The Fremont County Commissioners tabled a decision at their September 14th regular meeting on a request by Black Range Minerals to expand the acreage for uranium exploration in the Tallahassee area northwest of Cañon City. The Commissioners heard more than three hours of testimony during the public hearing. Black Range Minerals is seeking to amend their original permit for uranium exploration which covered 8,169 acres on the Taylor Ranch to also include 2,210 acres on the neighboring South T-Bar Ranch properties. The Fremont County Planning Commission voted 4-2 on September 8th to recommend denial of the permit amendment.
Black Range President Mike Haynes said the company would not expand the total number of exploratory drilling holes beyond the 800 permitted but would expand the exploration to include the Hansen ore deposit beneath the South T-Bar Ranch. Haynes said they would like to reduce domestic water well monitoring to once instead of twice a year and to be able to access the property off of County Road 21.
Most of those present at the hearing spoke in opposition. Jim Barton said water comes down the gradient off of Waugh Mountain faster than other groundwater aquifers. Barton said property owners down gradient to the exploration drilling deserve to have their wells tested as a baseline before exploratory drilling starts. Barton said 91 of 94 homeowners in the area down gradient in the Tallahassee area signed petitions expressing concerns about the quality of their water. Kay Hawklee echoed the sentiment saying she objects to less restrictive water monitoring plans.
Orlan Lighty argued that Black Range should be initiating a new permiot request because the issues are different. Lighty said exploration on the Taylor Ranch deals with only one property owner while drilling on South T-Bar is on 35-acre parcels with multiple landowners and multiple present or future domestic water wells. Virgil Burke also questioned migration of uranium through underground aquifers saying his well in Autumn Creek has three times the allowable limit of uranium since Black Range started their drilling.
Susan Wyman, a hydrogeologist for Black Range, said since she started domestic water well monitoring in 2008 she has established eight data sets and has not seen the trends in higher uranium content that homeowners claim. Wyman said “We have not seen a statistical increase in contamination”. Wyman also said that ten domestic water wells that have been monitored in the Tallahassee area since the 1970’s also show no historical trends. Wyman said strategically locating monitoring wells is vital. She says it did not make sense to drill monitoring wells in the north part of Taylor Ranch if the focus for exploration was down gradient.
The Board of Commissioners noted that third party independent water expert Bruce Smith of Western Land and Water of Grand Junction was unable to attend the hearing. All three Commissioners were in agreement with both opponents and Black Range officials that Smith’s analysis of the surface and water well monitoring program should be included on the record before any decision is made. The Commissioners voted to table the Black Range application until the September 28th meeting. The Commissioners said Smith has indicated he will attend the hearing.
In tabling the application, the Commissioners extended the public comment period until 4:30 p.m. September 22nd. They also agreed to continue the public hearing to the September 28th board meeting but to limit additional comment to those issues raised and addressed by Bruce Smith in his testimony.
The Commissioners last Tuesday also rescheduled a public hearing until October 12th on a requested change of condition for a conditional use permit held by Fremont Paving and Redi-mix for their Florence gravel pit along Highway 67 north of Florence. Fremont Paving wants a two year extension on reclamation requirements but the hearing had to be rescheduled because the property had not been adequately posted.
The Commissioners also voted unanimously to sign a letter of support for the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2009 being pushed in Congress by Congresswoman Diana DeGette. Four areas in Fremont County, Beaver Creek, Grape Creek, McIntyre Hills, and Badger Creek are candidates for wilderness designation. Commission Chairman Ed Norden said he initially had some reservations about signing a letter of support after a letter from Jim Javernick of Cañon City raised questions of whether he would continue to have access to his 160 acres of private property in the Grape Creek area south of Cañon City. DeGette’s representative, Jennifer Clanahan of Denver, assured the Commissioners that Javernick would continue to have access to his property through any wilderness area.
Norden noted that the Commissioners had insisted that DeGette conduct a public meeting in Cañon City to allow local citizens a chance to be heard on the matter. DeGette also reassured members of the Fremont County Cattlemens’ Association at the August 6th public meeting that any existing grazing rights held by ranchers in the four areas would be preserved even after wilderness designation.
Commissioner Larry Lasha said the Commissioners were agreeable to the wilderness designations after also being reassured that areas popular with ATV enthusiasts including the Stultz Trail and Tanner Peak Trail would be removed from the proposed Grape Creek wilderness area.
In other business the Commissioners:
- Approved the 2009 Audit Report from Johnson-Holscher Company;
- Authorized the Chairman to sign the Department of Human Services Core Services Program Plan;
- Approved a Resolution setting an $800 application fee for recently approved regulations regarding temporary use permits for Temporary Towers;
- Approved a 36-month extension of the deadline for contingency items for the Northfield Coal rail loadout.