Two dozen residents turned out Tuesday for the first of three public meetings held by the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology regarding the Line Camp gravel mine proposed for an 18-acre section of land along the Dolores River.

The informal conference is an opportunity for citizens to air any additional concerns not recorded during the expired written-comment period on the reclamation portion of the mining plan. The mine is being proposed by Four States Aggregate on land owned by Val Truelson, both of Dolores.

In May the Montezuma County Commission voted to grant a high-impact permit for the mine, pending completion of the state permitting process. Past hearings on the issue brought howls of protest from dozens of neighbors opposing it. If approved, the mine would be added to a developed stretch of river already populated with many home sites interspersed between several ongoing or expired gravel mines and pits.

Those complaints were continued Tuesday for the state record, and were heightened by an attorney representing neighbors who are suing the county for approving the pending permit. Reclamation issues raised by several of the 25 people in the audience included weed control, groundwater contamination, mine discharge and flooding concerns.

Two environmental specialists for the Division of Minerals and Geology, Tom Gullis and Wally Erickson, asserted that many of the issues being raised were already on record and did not require rehashing.

But their contention that certain issues, such as traffic, noise, property values and scenic qualities, fall outside the jurisdiction of the department was challenged by attorney Jim Preston, who is representing landowners Carol Stepe and Jack Akin in a lawsuit against the county.

"Visual impacts are relevant because they are included in the statute regulating (reclamation) and are therefore within your jurisdiction," Preston said.

Erin Johnson also questioned what the division interprets as pertinent under the statute. She called for all of the objections listed under "non-jurisdictional" to be considered as jurisdictional for the record, and added that the availability of other sources of gravel, such as on Haycamp Mesa, should be analyzed as an alternative that would minimize mining impacts on nearby communities.

Gullis responded that for a mine to go forward, several permits are required that deal with such issues and that reclamation is just one of them.

Marilyn Boynton said it is important that native plants be used to reclaim the land after mining is complete, and that they be incrementally planted over time and then monitored.

"Otherwise you end up with a thistle field instead of native grasses and shrubs," she said.

The steep gradient and narrow canyon of the Dolores River needs to be respected also, Boyton added. She said the river’s powerful stream flow could become a danger when combined with more and more abandoned mine pits.

"As the pits capture the water during a flood, it could radically change the whole course of the river," said Boyton, who has studied mining issues as a reporter for a trade magazine. "The people of Dolores are in a lottery, and as more pits are dug the odds that a flood could hit Dolores increase."

A good buffer zone between the mine and the river would minimize the risk, she noted. It was also requested that mitigation efforts required by the commission, including the formation of a reclamation-oversight committee for the Line Camp mine, be implemented into the state reclamation plan.

The issue of potential groundwater contamination was raised by Dave Wuchert and others. Wells in the area should be tested once the mine begins operating to ensure public safety, they said. Gullis said such analyses are done on a case-by-case basis and that they generally would not test well water unless the division had reason to suspect contamination.

"It has not been our experience that groundwater quality is a problem with gravel-mining," he ssaid.

Pat Kantor, representing a group of landowners working to prevent more gravel mines in that section of the valley, said the cumulative effect of so many gravel pits requires study.

But Gullis responded that according to statutes, such cumulative effects are not required to be taken into consideration.

"Are you aware of how many are going in the same area?" asked Stepe.

"Yes, we know that and understand the concept, but the rules do not allow us to address that," Gullis said. "

Preston believes the agency has a statutory precedent to consider all of the issues raised at the meeting. Under the rules the mine does require an environmental study at the state level, he said.

The division will make a recommendation to the Bureau of Mined Land Reclamation Board on April 10 on whether the reclamation plan is acceptable.

A pre-hearing conference will then be held on April 17 at 2 p.m. in Dolores Town Hall. Finally, the formal public hearing at which point the permit is approved or denied by the reclamation board is set for either April 25 or 26 at 1313 Sherman St., Room 318, in Denver beginning at 9 a.m.