The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) heard an update on issues with gravel mining at the Running Iron Ranch at its Oct. 9 board meeting.
This update followed board members expressing concerns about the state of mining and reclamation at the ranch and the conduct of the Weber family, who leases the ranch, at a Sept. 29 PAWSD meeting.
Legal counsel for PAWSD, with the approval of legal counsel for the San Juan Water Conservancy District, who jointly owns the property, also sent a cease and desist letter to the Webers on Sept. 30, laying out conditions for them departing from the ranch and completing reclamation.
At the Oct. 9 meeting, PAWSD District Engineer/Manager Justin Ramsey stated that he had visited the ranch and was able to ascertain current conditions on the property, although he could not “swear to” events in the past.
He indicated that the crushed rock at the site was rock reserved for PAWSD projects and that there is now no mining equipment on the ranch except for earth-moving equipment, with the Webers having removed their last screen and conveyor belt in the last week.
Ramsey explained that the mine area is largely covered in topsoil and that the Webers are “clearly moving forward” with reclamation, including purchasing and preparing to seed the topsoil.
He stated a staff member for the Colorado Department of Mining and Reclamation who recently visited the property with Ramsey concluded that the mining activity stayed within the boundaries designated in the mining permit with some small exceptions likely due to grading errors.
He added that he was not able to verify any reports of the Webers crushing rock at the site and that he believed that they are moving forward and are close to completing reclamation.
“It’s so good to hear this,” said PAWSD board member Bill Hudson.
PAWSD board member Alex Boehmer noted that he has customers in the area who have not heard rock crushing activity and that he checked with Archuleta County, whose representatives stated that no gravel for the county is being purchased from the Weber’s mine.
Ramsey added that he also spoke to Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) staff who confirmed that A&M Construction, a company owned by Andrew Weber, is a subcontractor on CDOT’s U.S. 160 reconstruction project in downtown Pagosa Springs, but that the gravel being hauled is not sourced from their pit.
PAWSD Programs Manager Renee Lewis asked the board if they still wanted to pursue placing cameras at the site to monitor activity at the ranch.
Hudson stated that he would suggest not placing cameras at the site based on Ramsey’s report.
PAWSD board member Glenn Walsh commented that having cameras might be valuable since there are unoccupied structures and other potential hazards at the ranch.
PAWSD chairman Gene Tautges asked if PAWSD had received records of how much gravel had been taken from the ranch since Jan. 4, 2023, as requested in the district’s cease and desist letter.
Ramsey stated that the district is working on accounting how much gravel it has acquired in the last three years and that the Webers claim that they have not sold gravel to anyone else in that time.
Boehmer commented that he was not worried about squatters on the ranch during the summer while activity is happening on the ranch, but that it could be a potential concern during the winter.
The board concluded the discussion with the direction that no action on placing cameras at the ranch be taken at present.
