Gravel pit on Granath Mesa rejected by state

Gravel pit on Granath Mesa rejected by state

Sept 1, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

Montezuma County was denied a state permit to mine gravel at the controversial Hindmarsh pit on Granath Mesa because ownership rights of the subsurface resource were found to be unresolved.

The Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board turned down an appeal by the county last week on the permit’s earlier denial. The board decided that the issue of who had legal right to the gravel on the 160-acre piece of private land off Road W needed further clarification.

"Who owns what still needs to be determined in this case, and that may take further court procedures between different parties claiming gravel-estate rights, but we cannot be the judge of that," said Bob Oswald, environmental-protection specialist with the Division of Minerals and Geology.

The county had planned to mine road-base gravel from the property 5-10 acres at a time, and pay owner Russell Hindmarsh royalties.

But another claimant, John Wyman, protested the permit request, arguing that he also had rights to the gravel based on historic use implied in former property deeds and complex laws regulating ownership of subsurface, oil and mineral rights.

In Colorado, oil-and-gas and mineral interests, and the right to drill and mine them, can be owned by an individual separate from the surface owner.

The county, and its attorney, Bob Slough, were steadfast in their decision to pay only Hindmarsh, citing court cases that showed the gravel, generally considered a subsurface right, was his alone and not the same as mineral rights, which Wyman was reportedly claiming.

The MLRB board agreed with Wyman’s assertion, based on the same case law, that since the property had historically been mined, deeds dating back could potentially be considered a legal claim.

At any rate, the MLRB board said they approve permits on a case-by-case basis, and ownership of the mining rights must be clearly defined, or they risk lawsuits against the agency.

The county plans to leave the case where it stands until the ownership issue is resolved. At that point the commission may seek a permit again at the site.

County Administrator Tom Weaver said the denial was not expected to have a big effect on the county’s gravel resources.

The county approved the mine in the summer of 1998 over objections of residents on Road W and in nearby Eagles Overlook, which sits on a ridgeline in view of it.

Attorney Erin Johnson, who at hearings on the issue presented a petition signed by 150 residents opposing the mine, said she was "pleased" to hear of the state ruling.

"The county needs to make better land-use decisions by matching up more compatible uses and they have not gone down that path very far," she said.