HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.0 PC Staff Report 09.11.1985PROJECT INFORMATION
Pc e /tL/Bs
AND STAEF COMMENTS
Modification of Special Usefor extraction, storage ano
processing facilities,
impoundments,mine r a1
permrts
limited
water
WASLE
R,EQUEST:
A.PPLICANT:
L(f,CATION:
SITE DATA:
WATER:
SEWER:
ACCESS:
EXISTING ZONING:
ADJACENT ZONING:
Site Description: The mine site sits
ffi and at the Dase of
Ridge). The portions of the site
irrigated hay land, with the upPer
sagebrush attd mountain shrub as the
area of the site that includes the
very steep slopes in excess of 408
sits at the base of tne hogback and
I58.
1,)E f,"t"7l-ff*i,7" ;:L Ef t \T' uo c r., p t -e ?
New castle Energy corporation
(Storm King Mines, fnc.)
A tract of Iand l-ocated in portions
of the N L/2 of Section 6, T6S,
R90wi more practically oescrioed as
a tract located 1 L/2 mLles east of
New Castle off of CountY Road 335.
A 292 acre tract of land to be used
for coal mining activities and
support facilrties.
-Portabie water containers for
domestic use.
-WelI - industrial make-uP water.
Temporary non-o:.scharging holding
tank.
County Road 335.
Planned Unit Development
North - PUD, A/R/RD
South - A/R/RD
Easr - O/5, PUD
West - A/R/RD
on a bench south of the
the Grand Hogback (CoaI
nearest to the river are
sections of the srte having
predominant vegetation. The
Grand Hogoack rormation has
buu the majority of the site
has gent.J-e slopes of 5 to
I. RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The proposed Special Uses are located in District B,
Subdivisions/Rural Serviceable Areas, L/2 to I mile radius, moderate
environmental constraints. Under the District B classification, the
area falls within tne sub-category lb, which is an area witnin one (1)
mile of a subdivision witn central water and sewer ano moderate
environmental constraints. This sub-category classification is based
on the Riverbend PUD location.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSAL
A.
^ 7-
B.eroject oescription: It is proposed to modify tne Special Use
ffi a coar mine- to prove the feasibirity of the
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produce 2.2 million tons annually'Tnis permit, thougn, would
bnly be for a pilot mlne tnat projects .a maximum of 960,700 tons
of coal ber.ng iroduceO in 1987: in. foliowrng is tne projected
production bY quarter:
Quar Ler
1986
1987
4 Total
iyaiauric minrng technigue, provide _ coal for washabirity and
c6mbuscion tests and to provide small shipments to- the western
coal spot markets. It i; proposed that the mine wiIl eventualJ-y
I
-0-
283,800
The following :.s a I
approved in the Previousapplicatron:
1984 APP1ication
2 mine portals
sediment Ponddewatering Plant
slurry ponds
sizing station
shop ano trailers
water treatment Plant
par k ing
coal storage PiIe
access road
2
2L,6L2
283,800
3
B0 ,7 24
252,500
262 t278
140,600
364,6L4
960,700Lrm
The major reason for the requested motJrfication is a result of
the desire of NCEC to move the tunnel portals and associated
facitities 1400 feet west of the originar ioc-ation' The
relocation oi- -t.ire portals will reduce the length of the tunnels
from 25OO ft. to 1750 ft. Adciitionally, the portals wij'I be
separated, rather tnan be parallel, reducing the size of the cut
into tne mountain. Each tunnel wiil be l-0 feec nigh and 16 feet
wide and 60 ft.. nign. The same blasting technrgues will be
utilized to oore tire new tunners'
rst to compare the associated facilities
application and tne reguested modified
1985 Application
2 mine portals
dewatering Plantsizrng station
sediment Pondsnop and traiters
coal storage PiIeerectrical suostation
access road
2 Lay down Yards2 powder magazines
temporary tunnel muck
storage
water storage tanks
rock handling Yard
The dewatering prant will be sized to meet the needs of the
operation, wnicir is approximately 150 ft. Iong and 50 ft' wide'
t-he slurry ponds troir- the Prevlous application have been
eriminated as a resul-t of redesignrng the dewatering prant to
take the backfl0w from tne mine within the structure' The
dewatering plant wiII also rnclude a sizing statron' Large
topsoil sioci<p:.Ies wiII be used as vrsual buffers.
The proposed access road has Deen moveci, each approximately 1100
feet, in an effort to avoio a large number of culverts that woulo
be required in the previous location'
Initial mining of coal will require the trucking of the material
to a loadout iicrirty in Clenwood Springs. It +s. anticipated
that this Ioadout roirta only be used during the inrtial stages of
tne operation for somewhere between 20r000 to 30r000 tons of coal
per -quarter. In the interim, various alternatives f or a
|ermarient loaoout are being analyzeo. Separate permrts wiII be
iequested for the permanent facility'
"/ -
This permit would result in a maximum employmeni.- level of 155
empfoyees the thirO quarter of 1986. The initial employment
Ievel would De 51 in Mirch of 1985, peaking In August and going
down to 47 by the end of 1987. Since the employment leveL will
not exceed 200 at any time ouring the permit, NCEC Is asKing that
if,"y-U" relieved of any responsibility for . revision of the
pr"iriou" fiscal impa-t analysis and mitigatron program
requirements.
III.IVIAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS
A.Staff Comments
On December 27, 1984,
Resolutron No. 84 -264,
the Board of County Commissioners approved
with tne folrowing conclitions of approval:
I.
2.
That all verbal and written rePresentations of the
ippficants snal Oe considered conditions of apProvaI, unleSs
"'pL.if ied otherwise by the Board of County Commissioners'
That any permits issued wrll oe valid until Jury L,1988.
That prior to the issuance of any Special Use permits:
A. The applicant wiil revise the storm King Mines Fiscal
Impact Assessment to reflect the current plan of
opirations, and that the revised Fiscal Impact
Assessment wilL be reviewed by tne affected
governmental entrties and a mitigation plan establrshed
[f,at is acceptable to the Board of County
Commissioners.
B. That the copies of aI1 other permits from other
governmental lgencres regurretl for che proposed Special
uses be submitted to tire Department of Development.
c. That the applrcanc srrbmit a iandscaprng, Iighting and
color schemL- plan for the facilities which minimizes
visual impacts Lo tne extent reasonably feasiOle for
the propbsed uses and is acceptable to the Board of
CountY Commrssioners.
That prior to the issuance of Special Use permits for
extraltion, storage, water impoundment and mineral waste
disposal, the followrng conditions be met:
A. That the applicant agree to limit blasting activity to
daytime houis if the noise impacts to nearby resioents
is determineO Dy the Board of County Commissioners to
be greater than Projected.
B. That written verification from the Division of Water
Resources of a legal l^,ater source be provided to the
Department of Development/Plannrng Division'
c.That written verification from the Town of Nev, Castle
of therr alrility to accept tne sewage efftuent from Lhe
project De submitted to the Department of
Development/Planning Division.
3.
4.
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nLi
It has been proposed to paint structures a "ciesert
tan with one horizontal white stripe.' A color
sample will be provided.
The lighting plan states that lignts will be
placed such that the focus of illumination wiII be
generally downward and at the aPpropriate facility
or area. It is stated that every attempt will be
made to avoid of f -site irnpacts. To specify
specific iilumination and locations of structures
i; not possible until the final engineering is
completed.
The applicant should agree to the same conditions
of appiovaf vr:.tn regard to t'he blasting
activities.
The I{LRB in their preliminary f indings has
determined that NCEC has more than aoequate water
rights to develop the mtne. I'ILRB does have the
Stite Engineerrs offrce verify the water rights.
This would eliminate the necessity for this
condition.
The previous aPplication included a letter from
the Town of New Castle expressing their
willingness to work with the then Storm King Mines
to dumping sevrage into the Town I s sewage treatment
system. Tne Town Ivlanager has indicated that they
aie still willing to work with NCEC on thrs lssue.
(1-4) The traffic safety analysis is in process
and will be submitted prior to issuance of the
Special Use permit.
The pavement thickness design is being performed
by a gualiEied engineer and will be submitteo
prior to issuance of the Special Use permit.
This conoition may need to be changed given the
proposed maximum production of 960r700 tons of
ioal in L987. If production levels reach this
point, a permanent loadout facility wiil be in
place, which may not require trucring tne coal.
The same condition of approval may be adequate for
the interim period.
IV. SUGGESTED FINDINGS
That the meeting before the Planning Commission was extensive and
complete, that all pertrnent facts, matters anO issues were
submitted and that aII interested parties were heard at the
mee E,ing i
That the proposed Special Use conforms to Section 5.03 concerning
the approval-or disapproval of a pecrtion for a Special Use, of
the Garfield County Zoning Resolution;
3. That the proposed tand use will be compatible witn existing and
permitted land uses in all directions provided certain conditions
of approval are met;
That for Lhe above stated and other reasons, the proposed Special
Use permits are in the best rnterest of the health, satety,
morals, convenience, order , prosper ity and welfare of the
citizens of Garfield CountY.
A.4.
B.
c.
A.5.
B.
I.
2.
4.
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V.RECOMMENDATION
APPROVAI on an incremental basis witn the following conditions of
approval.
1.That aII verbal and written representations of the appficant
shall be considered conditions of approval, uniess specified
otherwise by the Board of County Commissioners.
That any permits issued wrlI oe vaiid until JuIy L,1988.
That prior to the issuance of any Special Use permits:
A. Tnat the copies of all oLher permirs rrom other governmental
agencies reguired for the proposed Special Uses b9 suomitE,edto the prannins Department. *lVp*rd h gaet-
B. That a conceptual Iandscaping plan be developed,{that:
1. Identifies the general locatlon ot revegeLation, tree
and shrub planting and oermi.ng.
2.
3.
2. That identifies the types of material
revegetation ano planting " The rninimum
trees ano shrubs.
That, identifies the anticipated time3.
to oe used insize of t,he
schedule for
E,J
\
d
\
- completing revegetation and plant:-ng.*'r-&.That any on site lignting minimize
any off-site impacts.
That a color scheme for all building
Board of County Commissioners.
to the degree possiole
Dy theoeapproved
That the applicant agree to rimit blasting activitydaytime hours if the norse impacts to nearby residents
determined to be greater than projected by tne Board
Counuv Commrssroners.
f. /)anfa Sqrfrqs:ld-)
That prior to the issuance of Specral Use permits for industrial
support tacirrtieu, retail/wholesale sale of coai, aud the access
routes, the following conditions be met:
A. That the appticant provide a traffic safety analysis of theproposed haul- road and that the traffic safety engineer be
acceptaole to Garfiel-d County. That tne conclusions of thetraffic safety analysis will be J-ncorporated into tne oesrgn
and improvement of the haul road. Tnat, Et a mJ-nimum, the
analysis study:
1.Present traffic volumes on CR 335, New Castle I-70
Intercnange an<l St. Hwy 6 & 24 at the intercnange.
Projected volumes for a specifieci period of time.
Estaolishes limits to traffrc volumes.
Identifies measures necessary to mitigate congestion
and circulation proolems.
tois
of
2.
3.
4.
C.
D.
- r-
B.
C.
That the proposed haul road De designed t^:ased upon a
pavement thickness design performed by an engineer qualified
to perform such a study. Further, that the Board of County
Commissioners review the document and require the applicant
build a haul road in accordance witn the specifications
contained in the rePort.
That based on the traffic safety analysis, a maximum number
of truck trips per day be establisned for the hauling of
coal and that a Iimited size of the operation be
established. But, in no case, will the test mine exceed
960,700 tons of coal per year or an average of 54 round trip
trucK trips per day on a monthly basis.
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