HomeMy WebLinkAbout20073253.tiff Esther Gesick
From: Esther Gesick
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 11:55 AM
To: 'robin@mustanghollow.com'
Subject: RE: Isn't Weld County a HOME RULE county
Attachments: LEUraniumEmail.wpd; LEUraniumEmail.doc
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To: Robin Davis,
Please see the attached.
Esther E. Gesick
Deputy Clerk to the Board
915 10th Street
Greeley, CO 80631
(970) 356-4000 X4226
(970) 352-0242 (fax)
Original Message
From: Robin Davis [mailto:robin@mustanghollow.com]
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 9:15 AM
To: Esther Gesick; PBe1196204@aol.com; rrshively@greeleynet.com;
Kurt.janz@swiftbrands.com; cherrie@frii.com; birthadvocate@msn.com;
pversteeg@thegroupinc.com; shill@thegroupinc.com; bfrusher@thegroupinc.com;
robin@mustanghollow.com; webmaster@nunnglow.info; snightengale@thegroupinc.com;
aschari@thegroupinc.com; csande@thegroupinc.com; amouton99@msn.com; Rheth@Thegroupinc.com;
rowdybritt@aol.com; allisb_99@yahoo.com; fwsmith@ezlink.com; evetarbett@ezlink.com;
eegrogan@hotmail.com; jmedawn@aol.com; jcheever@ezlink.com; noellestilts@hotmail.com;
linda_kaysen@hotmail.com; shehog3@comcast.net; jenrob1988@msn.com; jrobertal@juno.com;
safehavenfarms@ezlink.com; bairinc@gmail.com; Sshines@peoplepc.com;
thunderclap@hughes.net; kevinhettinger@yahoo.com; curtgracemartin@hotmail.com;
cowgirl_lovetoride@yahoo.com; allilong76@msn.com; longjay7@msn.com; KurtGul@aol.com;
pjhaythorn@hotmail.com; colo.3.some@hotmail.com; judesimmons@comcast.net;
kirstenkh@gmail.com; rmjamesranch@ncolcomm.com; jgreencsu@yahoo.com;
saira.hamidi@gmail.com; linda@comebacktothetable.com
Cc: Jackie Adolph; Gerrit Voshel; Linda Turner; Phillip Brewer; egesisk@co.weld.co.us;
William Garcia; Bill Jerke; Trevor Jiricek; Dave Long; Rob Masden; Douglas Rademacher;
paul wood
Subject: Isn't Weld County a HOME RULE county
Based upon the fact that Weld County is a Home Rule County, and the fact that it is the #1
ag producer in Colorado, it would seem to me that the greater interest would be in
protecting our water supplies. Yes, Weld County can ban in-situ leach mining for uranium
in an effort to protect clean water. Do your research and come out strong to protect us,
please. Understand your rights.
People, don't let the government steal our right to clean water. All life is precious.
Please see the below article as a precedent in Colorado:
This is news about a ban in Summit County, CO on Cyanide Heap Leach Mining.
Appeal affirms Summit cyanide mining ban
2007-3253
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BY BOB BERWYN
summit daily news
Summit County, CO Colorado
March 22, 2007
SUMMIT COUNTY - A ban on cyanide heap leach mining in Summit County was
restored Thursday after a 2-to-1 vote Thursday by the Colorado Court of
Appeals. The court ruled that Summit County has the authority to forbid the
practice, where a cyanide solution is drizzled over piles of low-grade ore
to profitably extract gold.
The decision by the three-judge panel is subject to challenge in the
Colorado Supreme Court. Local commissioners lauded the decision, and
garnered praise from environmental groups for aggressively pursuing local
control over a quality of life issue.
"The process (cyanide mining) is extremely dangerous, " said County
Commissioner Bob French. "It ain't any damn thing that should be going on in
a community that is reaching for environmental values. "
Mining industry officials see the regulations as a threat to mining in
general, and as a possible first step to more restrictions. Using the latest
technology and establishing high performance standards for cyanide heap
leach mining can all but eliminate environmental concern, said Mining
Association president Stuart Sanderson.
Sanderson said his group's challenge to the cyanide ban was not aimed at
questioning Summit County's land use authority, but narrowly at the ban
itself.
In the end, he said it was a "politicized" decision by the county
commissioners to adopt a ban that led to the lawsuit.
"We are examining all our avenues of appeal, " Sanderson said.
Summit County adopted its mining regulations in 2004. The Colorado Mining
Association subsequently won its challenge to the cyanide ban and
performance standards in Summit County District Court by asserting that
state mining laws take precedent over local regulations.
But the appeals court pointed out that a 1993 amendment to the Mined Land
Reclamation Act specifically requires mining operators to "comply with city,
town, county, or city and county land use regulations. "
The Mining Association argued that counties can't ban activities in which
the state has a compelling interest, but the appeals court said Summit
County' s regulations fall "far short" of a complete ban.
"In our view, a ban on one specific type of mining as a county's exercise of
its land use powers does not materially impede or destroy the state's
interest in an economically sound and stable mining industry, " two judges
wrote in their majority decision.
The appeals court ruling could send part of the decision back to District
Court Judge David Lass.
Threat to mining? Threat to environment?
Cyanide heap leach mining presents a high risk of serious water quality
impacts, according to several conservation groups that joined Summit County
in the battle to uphold the regulations. The potential risks to water
quality and Summit County's recreation-based economy are simply too high,
the conservation groups argued.
2
"This validates local land use control and decision making, " said Summit
County attorney Jeff Huntley, explaining that the mining industry's lawsuit
was an aggressive challenge not only to the cyanide ban but to county
authority in general.
Mining is an industry of statewide interest that needs a unified and
effective regulatory framework to avoid a "patchwork of regulations, " Mining
Association spokesperson Sanderson countered.
Gunnison, Conejos, Costilla, and Gilpin have passed similar land use
regulations and the Summit County case is likely to set a precedent for the
whole state.
"Summit County residents ought to be proud of their elected leaders in
standing up to protect the environment and quality of life in Summit
County, " said Jeff Parsons, attorney with the Lyons-based Western Mining
Action Project, who represented the Alliance for Responsible Mining and the
Blue River Group of the Sierra Club in appealing the case alongside the
Summit County government.
"Clean water provides us with a high quality of life and is also the basis
of a thriving mountain economy, " said Karn Stiegelmeier, chair of the Blue
River Group of the Sierra Club. "County commissioners must be able to
prohibit specific types of mining that place our water resources at undue
risk. The state of Montana prohibits this type of mining because of the harm
it has caused. "
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com
3
Esther Gesick
From: Bruce Barker
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 3:50 PM
To: Bill Jerke; Esther Gesick
Subject: RE: Isn't Weld County a HOME RULE county
Presumably the County could ban the in-situ mining process, based upon the Court of
Appeals case she cites. The request, however, has repeately been for the County to ban
uranium mining. I do not believe the County has the authority to completely ban the
mining of a particular mineral.
Being a home rule county makes no difference.
Original Message
From: Bill Jerke
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 3:20 PM
To: Bruce Barker; Esther Gesick
Subject: FW: Isn't Weld County a HOME RULE county
Original Message
From: Robin Davis [mailto:robin@mustanghollow.com]
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 9:15 AM
To: Esther Gesick; PBe1196204@aol.com; rrshively@greeleynet.com;
Kurt.janz@swiftbrands.com; cherrie@frii.com; birthadvocate@msn.com;
pversteeg@thegroupinc.com; shill@thegroupinc.com; bfrusher@thegroupinc.com;
robin@mustanghollow.com; webmaster@nunnglow.info; snightengale@thegroupinc.com;
aschari@thegroupinc.com; csande@thegroupinc.com; amouton99@msn.com; Rheth@Thegroupinc.com;
rowdybritt@aol.com; allisb_99@yahoo.com; fwsmith@ezlink.com; evetarbett@ezlink.com;
eegrogan@hotmail.com; jmedawn@aol.com; jcheever@ezlink.com; noellestilts@hotmail.com;
linda_kaysen@hotmail.com; shehog3@comcast.net; jenrob1988@msn.com; jrobertal@juno.com;
safehavenfarms@ezlink.com; bairinc@gmail.com; Sshines@peoplepc.com;
thunderclap@hughes.net; kevinhettinger@yahoo.com; curtgracemartin@hotmail.com;
cowgirl_lovetoride@yahoo.com; allilong76@msn.com; longjay7@msn.com; KurtGul@aol.com;
pjhaythorn@hotmail.com; colo.3 .some@hotmail.com; judesimmons@comcast.net;
kirstenkh@gmail.com; rmjamesranch@ncolcomm.com; jgreencsu@yahoo.com;
saira.hamidi@gmail.com; linda@comebacktothetable.com
Cc: Jackie Adolph; Gerrit Voshel; Linda Turner; Phillip Brewer; egesisk@co.weld.co.us;
William Garcia; Bill Jerke; Trevor Jiricek; Dave Long; Rob Masden; Douglas Rademacher;
paul wood
Subject: Isn't Weld County a HOME RULE county
Based upon the fact that Weld County is a Home Rule County, and the fact that it is the #1
ag producer in Colorado, it would seem to me that the greater interest would be in
protecting our water supplies. Yes, Weld County can ban in-situ leach mining for uranium
in an effort to protect clean water. Do your research and come out strong to protect us,
please. Understand your rights.
People, don't let the government steal our right to clean water. All life is precious.
Please see the below article as a precedent in Colorado:
This is news about a ban in Summit County, CO on Cyanide Heap Leach Mining.
Appeal affirms Summit cyanide mining ban
BY BOB BERWYN
summit daily news
Summit County, CO Colorado
March 22, 2007
1
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