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~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~ a~ a~~ ~ o ~tu~KS~~ <br />~4y Received <br />RECEIVED <br />April 12, 1999 APR 21 1999 pVE~VE13 F APR 1 9 1999 <br />Delta County Commissioners OF <br />501 Palmer ILECIC F~~E Cp ~ OivispRaf~Moe ~k1Ory~e <br />prv.o~c~i of Min¢rat3 &GeO~ /j,',c~g,_/~ <br />Delta, CO 81416 ~~~'E.h S 8 ~eoloyy <br />RE: Delta Paving Gravel Pit Peh~ r ~ PPL ~Gh ~i~ `, // <br />~h ~'~ cl` <br />Deaz Ted, Donna, and Jim: ~^ <br />It is my understanding that Ron Tipping and Delta Paving has told the county that the 6.4 acre <br />riverside pond will be a one time pull with a reclamation plan of allowing the river to flood over <br />it for 2 or 3 years and fill it back up. As I understand it, Delta Paving is free to amend their <br />mining plan anytime they choose to do so, just as they are allowed to mine any number of tons <br />per year, regardless of what is put on the application. It should be obvious to everyone that the <br />State DMG permitting process is nothing more than arubber-stamp procedure, and since Delta <br />County has no legal authority over the industrial use of this land, what's to prevent Delta Paving <br />from simply reapplying each year to amend their mining plan to pull the 6.4 acre pond every two <br />or three years from now to eternity? <br />This gravel pit permit application is in dire need of truthful communication --- regardless of the <br />disingenuous presentation of Ron Tipping, Delta Paving, and the State DMG. What the State of <br />Colorado is going to do at the formal hearing is approve a continuous mining operation in the <br />middle of a river. They mine it one year. They let it fill for two. They amend their mining plan. <br />The State DMG then goes through the same old rubber stampurg routine for an amended <br />application, which justifies collecting their paychecks every other week. Delta County has no <br />authority. Public input period ends. DMG issues amended mining permit. The 6.4 acre pond is <br />re-mined. And on and on. <br />It's also my understanding that Ron Tipping and Delta Paving have told you that this project will <br />end in 10 or 15 years at which time he will give the land to the County. The reclamation plan <br />calls for another "Confluence Park". Unless Mr. Tipping is prepared to place a warranty deed in <br />escrow, it will never happen. This is a specious argument, designed to mollify and mitigate their <br />very bold move to introduce an industrial site into anagricultural/residential neighborhood in a <br />neighboring county with no county permit process. <br />Everyone should go down to the river and take a close look at the Delta Sand & Gravel mining <br />site near the drive-in theatre. There you will fmd the ugly truth--- that reclamation plans are <br />hardly worth the paper they are written on. As I understand it, a permiee doesn't even have to <br />start reclamation until they declare they are done mining. Since the mining permits can be <br />amended to allow essentially continuous mining when located in a river --- the end result is that <br />there is no end. <br />The Delta Paving gravel pit and industrial site will no doubt be there 50 years from now. How <br />many years has DS&G worked within their permit? Probably 30 or 40 years with no end in sight. <br />