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July 19, 2001 By Janelle Holden The opponents of a newly permitted gravel pit along the Dolores River gathered in Dolores on Tuesday evening to see Tom Perlic, director of the Western Colorado Congress, present a slide show on Colorado’s gravel pits. Perlic said Colorado is the fifth-leading producer of gravel in the nation, with 500 active mines. He advised the crowd that the best way to influence the construction of a gravel mine is by lobbying the county commissioners, although 13 federal and state agencies could have a regulatory influence as well. Out of the 3,200 gravel-mining permits requested in the state since 1973, Perlic said only 18 have been denied. Members of the Citizens for Accountability and Responsibility (CFAR) are protesting the decision of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board to approve a permit for Four States Aggregates, LLC, in May for a pit at the Line Camp above Dolores. In a written statement of protest, David Wuchert said, "The board refused to hear and consider testimony regarding collateral damage to cottonwood trees on adjoining private and federal lands resulting from gravel-mining-caused declines in water tables." Wuchert also claimed that the board relied on flawed water-quality data from the Division of Minerals and Geology, and thwarted the protesters’ "due process of law" by refusing to subpoena witnesses that opponents had sought to hear. CFAR members argued that the 22-acre mine operation would heighten flash-flood dangers and could change the course of the river, threatening lives and private property. They also made the case that mining regulators are obligated to consider the cumulative effects that multiple gravel pits have on the environment. They testified that gravel-mining in that area lowers water tables, threatens groundwater wells with toxins and has the potential for silt-loading of mercury, a toxic substance, into McPhee Reservoir downstream. State Rep. Kay Alexander (R-Montrose) attended the meeting, and thanked the group for the "education" and "grassroots efforts." Alexander said, "There is a need, perhaps, to look at the state’s policy" regulating gravel mines. But, she warned the group, "We need to work from a cooperative, collaborative approach rather than pointing fingers," which CFAR members said they were willing to do. Alexander said she would be interested in hearing the suggestions the Colorado Water Conservation Board makes after touring the Dolores River gravel pits later this summer. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
