Alamosa River Restoration Projects Submitted, Public
Meeting Set
September 8, 2006, DENVER - San Luis Valley
residents will have the opportunity to look at three
proposed Alamosa River restoration projects beginning on
Sept. 8. The Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment announced that three San Luis Valley groups
submitted their plans for restoration work to share an
initial $2.5 million in Natural Resource Damages funds.
The funds are recovered from Galactic Resources, Ltd., for
environmental damage caused by the Summitville Mine. Under
federal environmental law, monies recovered through a
natural resources damage claim must be used to “restore,
replace, rehabilitate or acquire the equivalent of” the
natural resources that were injured by the mining
activities. A public meeting will be held to inform people
about the three plans and outline the evaluation process to
be used in selecting the plans. The meeting will be at 6:30
p.m., Sept. 20, at the Centauri High School band room, 17890
State Highway 285, La Jara. Project submitters will be on
hand to answer questions, and the public will have to
opportunity to provide written input on the plans. “This
is the culmination of several years of hard work among state
and federal agencies, and local residents and stakeholders,
to tackle natural resources damages along the river basin,”
said Dennis Ellis, executive director of the Department of
Public Health and Environment. Proposals were submitted to
federal and state natural resource damage trustees on Sept.
6, and a public comment period will run from Sept. 8 until
Oct. 6. The proposals are available for review at the
Capulin Post Office, 7999 State Highway 15; the U.S.
Agricultural Service Center, 15 Spruce Street, La Jara; and
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment,
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver. Three local groups
have drafted plans for restoration projects and will likely
split the available funds assuming they meet evaluation
criteria. They include a plan to restore stream bank erosion
along the river in the Rio Grande National Forest, a plan to
purchase water rights to prolong water flow in the river
from July through November, and the continuation of
restoration work restoring natural meanders and riparian
corridors in the lower Alamosa. The Alamosa River
Restoration Master Plan, a basin-wide assessment developed
over several years and with the input of local residents and
stakeholders, has been the guide for development of the
restoration plans. A work group consisting of nine trustee
representatives and community members will evaluate and rank
the proposals based on criteria laid out in the master plan,
public acceptance, likelihood of success, and technical
feasibility. The work group will give preference to projects
with the most matching funds from other sources, in an
effort to maximize beneficial use of natural resource damage
assessment funds. The work group will present its
recommendations to the trustees in November 2006. Review and
approval by the trustees should be completed by Jan. 31,
2007. Additional information about the natural resources
restoration process can be obtained by calling Austin
Buckingham, Alamosa River Watershed NRDA project manager for
the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division at
303-692-3435, or by faxing inquiries to her at 303-759-5355.
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