News Now Blog

The Fremont County Planning Commission will review applications for an events center with a veterinary practice at Penrose and for resumption of uranium exploration on the Taylor Ranch in the Tallahassee area northwest of Canon City.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Southern Delivery System (SDS). Go to www.sdseis.com to view or comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

Public Meetings are set on the Draft EIS: The public will have 60 days to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety has released a proposed decision and findings of compliance on an application for the Northfield Coal Mine which would operate in the Chandler area near Williamsburg.

A copy of the division's proposed decision and findings is available for public review at the Fremont County Clerk's Office in the County Administration Building at 615 Macon Ave. in Canon City. A 30 day public comment period is now in effect.

A brief public hearing dealing with reclamation of a coal mine and routine business comprised a brief agenda for the Fremont County Commissioners Tuesday morning.

There was no public comment offered at a hearing on a request to extend the time of a conditional use permit for Energy Fuels Inc. The permit is for reclamation of Energy Fuels' South Field Coal Mine that operated about five miles south of Florence. The Commissioners approved an extension of the permit through May 14, 2017, for reclamation purposes only. No other mining is allowed at the site.

The Fremont County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an amendment to a conditional use permit for a quarry at Parkdale that primarily changes the reclamation plan. Front Range Aggregate sought expansion of the sand and gravel mining area from 54.8 acres to 100 acres at their Parkdale operation and proposes to mine to a depth 60 feet below the ground elevation. Front Range Aggregate's primary change in the reclamation plan is to turn the mined out gravel pit into a large water storage area instead of reclaiming it as dry land.

The Fremont County Commissioners voted unanimously to deny a zone change request for 60 acres along the east side of Four Mile Creek following a two hour public hearing. The proposed site is just east of Canon City on the north side of the Arkansas River. An overflow crowd of 130 people packed the Commissioners' meeting room as most assembled to protest the zone change and an accompanying application for a conditional use permit.

A group of twenty Fremont County civic and government leaders was in Denver February 8th to accept Fremont County's 'Preserve America' designation during the 2008 Saving Places Conference. The occasion was Colorado Preservation Inc.'s 11th Annual Historic Preservation Conference. A coalition of Fremont County civic groups which have an ongoing interest in historical preservation came together last fall to organize the effort to become a 'Preserve America' community.

The Fremont County Commissioners dealt with a very brief agenda of business for their January 22nd regular board meeting. The Commissioners added two new members to the Fremont County Fairboard appointing Marsha Bouchard and Jean Whitehorn.

The City of Florence and the Fremont County Commissioners are hosting a public meeting Thursday evening, January 24th, to initiate discussions about possibly extending municipal water service west of Florence into Pathfinder Park and the Brewster area. More than three years ago residents in the rural Brewster area along Highway 115 submitted petitions to Florence and the county asking that domestic water service be considered for their area. At that time several residents complained that they could no longer drink water from their wells.