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NM:
Forest Service Closes Only Road to Mine
Associated
Press
Published 04. 28. 02 at 23:16 Sierra Time
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LOS
ALAMOS — The Copar Mining Company has a pumice mine and a
problem. The mine is located in Guaje Canyon near Los Alamos,
and the only road that leads to the site has been closed by the
U.S. Forest Service.
Copar president Kelly Armstrong is angry and contends that Los
Alamos County officials gave in to pressure from residents of
the area and used the Forest Service to close off the only road
Copar can use for access to the mine.
The closed road is one more repercussion from the Cerro Grande
Fire of 2000. The fire swept through more than 42,000 acres and
destroyed hundreds of homes in Los Alamos when a controlled burn
at Bandelier National Monument got out of hand and erupted into
a wildfire.
This month, Armstrong sent a letter to County Administrator Mary
McInerny, the New Mexico congressional delegation and federal
officials. In it, Armstrong said that, in the months after the
fire, "massive flooding" occurred in Guaje Canyon.
"This has forced the closure of our normal haul route
through the lower portion of the canyon," Armstrong wrote.
"Due to these unusual circumstances Copar requested and
received verbal permission from the Forest Service and the
County of Los Alamos to haul pumice from its mine via Rendija
Canyon, which is the only other existing route to and from the
area."
Forest Service officials said they erred when they permitted
mining trucks to use a national forest road in Rendija Canyon
for 18 months.
They also acknowledged that they have no jurisdiction over the
county roads, but they cite health and safety concerns for use
of the county roads as justification for pulling a permit on
national forest lands.
Residents in the Barranca Mesa area have complained to county
officials about Copar trucks using the road through Rendija
Canyon.
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