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Colorado Mined Land Reclamati~oard II I IIII II I II IIII III ~ A~'~@1V~ Division of Minerals & Geology R 1313 Sherman Street ~FCF/'~~O FFB 2 3 Denver Colorado 80202 n'-' r~ .o ~~"`~ °`~~ OFF{~ R~9 otyrs°~~a~9o ~~_'.._(4; F~~E L` ~' ~°i 2~0; 2001 an~r e.~e~ is _ } ~ Y Mir Ory ~j~ I DJ~ ~~ °9Y Dear Board Members, E: L ;he ~'~-~-,~., This letter is in reference to an upcoming permit for a gravel pit called "The Line Camp Pit", to be operated by Four States Aggregates, LLC, of Cortez, CO. My home is situated directly adjacent to the piece of property where the pit is to be located. Of course the noise and pollution are of grave concern tome, but even more than that is the concern for my property's stability during and after this pit is dug. The location of the "Line Camp Pit" is directly north of my home. (Please see enclosed Corps of Engineers Floodplain map) This pit, as in most river bottom pits, is located within the 100 Year Floodplain map published by the Corps of Engineers. To the south of my home there is an "overflow" tributary of the Dolores River which flows quite freely every spring, it is also within the 100 year floodplain. This puts my home directly between two areas of that floodplain. The completed 3 pits that are i planned will be covering 18 acres, that's a lot of "water-replaced"flood plain, and puts our home in a rather precarious position should such a flood occur. During the permitting process at the County level, no indication was made by the local commissioners or the developer as to steps that would be taken to prevent overflow onto my property should such a flood occur. There is already an area of the River, at the southerly portion of the proposed pit that shows distinct erosion of the river bank, which could easily be weakened and cause an overflow of the future "pond reclamation" to flood onto my property. Also, there was no information requested or directions given to the contractor as to the possible interruption of ground water which supplies my well, (which is only 60 feet deep) or the groundwater supplied pond that is on my property. (There were approximately iwo dozen waterfowl on this pond just yesterday) As 1 am sure you are aware, abandonment of these pits before reclamation is complete is not uncommon. The "Sunnyside Pits" that are 4 miles south of this proposed prt have not been able to find anyone to do the reclamation for the price that was originally set. Sufficient bond and close monitoring of this project are of utmost importance, as the property owner does not live at this site, and, as evidenced by their water rights being abandoned, is apparently seldom A T the site. The reclamation suggested was "grasses" to re-vegetate with a minimal amount of transplanted willows and native scrub. What if the transplants don't root? Wouldn't potted plants assure better success? What about replacement of some of the cottonwoods that will be lost from the interruption of their groundwater source? (Currently 1 mile south is a large stand of 50-80 foot cottonwoods died last spring due to the "Tam" pit that is in operation there) The permit states that water for the project will come from the "Home Ditch". This same ditch was listed in the local newspaper as "abandoned" just last fall. How can the property owner have the use of waters that are listed as abandoned? Board Members, l urge you to look carefully at this permit request. Knowing the potential ramifications for this operation in terms of.• Outstanding questions about the legality of the "Home Ditch" water Flow belonging to the owner current operation of another pit only one mile south of this one