2013-04-24_PERMIT FILE - M2013007

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Barbara Bernhardt 20409 Solitude Road Montrose, CO 81403 April 21, 2013 Colorado Division of Mining, Reclamation, and Safety 1313 Sherman Street - Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 RECEIVED 1 7 42013 G/ DIVISION OF RECLAMATI MINING AND SAFE, Re: Permit Application Number m2013007, Proposed Uncompahgre Gravel Pit I am writing to submit a second comment of concern, this time an objection to the permit application on the basis that the applicant has failed to prove that there is a viable gravel resource on this parcel. In reviewing the application, I noticed that the applicant has submitted that `their test pits have found gravel' on this mesa, yet they have provided no data to support this statement. What they have provided is a soils map that shows that the soil types they propose to mine consist of two types: Mesa Clay Loam ( #760) and Barboncito Rock Outcrop ( #30). In consulting with a professional geologist who has worked on the same mesa that the mine is proposed for, I learned that both soil formations have 'poor" ratings as having gravel resource potential', and that this geologist's experience with this particular mesa is `that there is a lot of soil mixed with the gravels and the gravels were laid down in a chaotic manner. The deposits are "dirty" and not well sorted. The Barboncito soils are shallow sandstone bedrock with a thin veneer of gravels. Neither mapping unit is a good source for gravel or sand. "' In parallel with the geologist assessment, the Montrose County Gravel Resource Map does not indicate a gravel resource exists in the region of the mesa of the proposed mine. Given that the area is critical habitat for a species under consideration for the Endangered Species List, why would the state Division of Mining, Reclamation, and Safety approve a 112c permit for a resource that has not been documented to exist on the proposed site? Prior to the granting of this permit, I urge you to require that the applicant's claim of the existence of a viable gravel resource within the permit area, based only upon a claim to having dug their own test pits, be verified by a disinterested third party professional geological consulting firm familiar with the area. Sincerely, }� Cu L{ ,W,'t, . C' /Barbara Bernhardt