[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6558724,"mediaKeyId","3232070-b2903aa89c7c4629b16fec23da21f505","parentId",3232070,"title","Planning panel backs Telluride Airport wetland permit with conditions after consultant briefings","audioSeconds",4920,"startMs",6284000,"endMs",11204000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3232070-b2903aa89c7c4629b16fec23da21f505&start=6284&end=11204","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3232070-b2903aa89c7c4629b16fec23da21f505/thumbnail_6284000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6558724/San-Miguel-County/Colorado/Planning-panel-backs-Telluride-Airport-wetland-permit-with-conditions-after-consultant-briefings","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6558724-8100596e9af4debcad8b5fb6043f0c81/orig.mp4?Expires=1771000955&Signature=VZYw8PqEYgFcjtR-o5GIcuIrEnw2x4dIQnqriyRqmzhj7QeWK70Rkv3RLHJjkk~5WMZif1EX7B0b9i3VUEe-deRw-o0MiQ98OyWGfirrRlNo2gBN1QQiP9kh~ncV1uTqdUX0oz7xHD6SLrWPdpjsuzzF4fiDFXBf9czcog-ozXeLhZxOKzKR5kLQrxXHCfmfS8rKIePYjPdyIodKkE1Q48qX5MYp2OxLBBHEdpKk-BHR7O3yX6QLEE-V8t26i~GZ9zUQ5aZrG472pslOWYzVCN2oojRpay2-lropgg8J4fMDw8M02QPkIWaqraNDHWZvsc8bSzKLGPqnSEDrYe1CQA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","San Miguel County","date","2025-05-09T06:13:31Z","article","San Miguel County planning commissioners voted May 8 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners approve a wetland special use permit for the Telluride Regional Airport's proposed south-side hangar and taxi-lane work, after staff and the airport's consultants described site-specific wetland mapping, mitigation measures and construction controls.

Planning staffer John (last name not specified in the transcript) told the commission the airport proposed about 35.1 acres of improvements on airport property, including new airfield pavement and hangars. Two wetlands were identified: a mapped wetland the county labeled \"Wetland 1\" and ‘‘Wetland 2'''the east feature that lies near the proposed Taxi Lane B. The application identified a compensatory wetland mitigation site and a non-wetland water body; staff said no direct impacts to mapped wetland boundaries were anticipated for the proposed work but noted construction intersects the 100-foot wetland buffer zone.

\"No end impacts are anticipated within map wetland boundaries or within the compensatory wetland mitigation site. That's important,\" John told commissioners while reviewing consultant drawings and the supplemental materials submitted April 23 by SWCA Environmental Consultants on behalf of the Telluride Regional Airport Authority.

SWCA wetland scientist Michael Perkins, the applicant's consultant, told the commission the detention-basin features now supporting wetlands are hydrology-limited and that engineered stormwater runoff from new hard surfaces could actually increase hydrology at those basins. Perkins said that increase could allow more wetland vegetation to establish. \"The project would not have an adverse effect,\" he said, adding that the existing basins provide sediment-settling and flow-control functions that would continue with the proposed mitigation and BMPs.

Staff and the applicant described the measures proposed to reduce construction impacts: construction fencing and erosion-control logs to prevent equipment intrusions, organic-filter barriers along the length of the mitigation site to retain sediment, and riprap underlain by filter fabric and fronted by gabion baskets on the down-slope side of Taxi Lane B to provide long-term slope stability and reduce sediment runoff. John noted the east wetland had a 21.62-foot buffer measured to a particular feature but that grading and slope work effectively increase the separation between Taxi Lane B and the wetland to nearly 63 feet in the area of concern.

Commissioners and applicants discussed specifics and sequencing. Airport manager Kenny (last name not transcribed) and engineers said the gabion baskets and riprap are intended primarily for slope stability and to prevent erosion from sheet flow. The engineering team said the gabion and riprap sizes are driven by FAA stormwater criteria and modeled storm events; they also said the project will require a stormwater pollution prevention plan and that contractors will install erosion controls and straw wattles between the work area and wetland during earthwork. Commissioners asked that those erosion-control and revegetation measures be in place early in the construction sequence and that revegetation reach an acceptable establishment rate before temporary controls are removed.

The commission heard comments and a written addendum from the Meadows at Deep Creek Mesa HOA; the HOA requested review steps and suggested limiting access from the south-side service road. Planning staff said those concerns will be recorded and considered during later development-permit review; staff also noted that a separate development permit (administrative review) will be required for grading, paving and building work and that the wetland permit, if approved, allows the county to address wetlands and buffer issues prior to the development-permit stage.

Commission action and conditions: the commission moved to recommend county approval of the wetland special use permit, finding that (a) the application meets the county's wetland-area standards and (b) proposed work is primarily in a buffer zone and, with conditions, is not likely to adversely affect adjacent wetlands. The motion included a condition that the applicant comply with written representations and BMPs in the April 23 supplement and that the county receive construction-sequencing information and documentation that erosion-control measures (for example, organic-filter barriers and straw wattles) are installed and maintained until revegetation reaches a required establishment threshold. The commission recorded a unanimous recommendation in favor of approval by the commissioners present.

Why this matters: the county code requires a special-use review for development within 100 feet of a mapped wetland boundary. The permit recommendation and the associated conditions are intended to allow the airport to proceed to the development-permit stage while preserving county oversight of construction sequencing, erosion control and revegetation to protect wetland function.

Ending: staff said the wetland SUP recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners; planning staff gave a target timeline that board review would follow the planning commission recommendation and other pending steps in the county process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Planning Commission 5/8","oneSentenceSummary","San Miguel County planning commissioners recommended approval of a wetland special use permit for the Telluride Regional Airport south-side hangar project, subject to best-management practices and revegetation conditions to protect mapped wetlands and buffer areas.","taxTitle","San Miguel County, Colorado","taxId",73428,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6558730,"State reclamation staff explain how Colorado sets mine reclamation bonds, show software behind estimates",4192,1567000,5759000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3232070-b2903aa89c7c4629b16fec23da21f505&start=1567&end=5759","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3232070-b2903aa89c7c4629b16fec23da21f505/thumbnail_1567000.jpg","/articles/6558730/San-Miguel-County/Colorado/State-reclamation-staff-explain-how-Colorado-sets-mine-reclamation-bonds-show-software-behind-estimates","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6558730-179412f109e24c8a81ca0b3314c34010/orig.mp4?Expires=1771000956&Signature=AqrjVzEP3CCj9A9FNF8DrroqQekObRkN-5DwTX2peWx9~kCixlOfJgAf4QexLqithrOLr-WB2-goKFAjZGMWmtSPwUxVvZy8SrpVDylg9tkrG3QpOtDhCnguAm41sq-i12CNLigeFTfKOQ5Prupoq0k6i~52MNnwcSd~nEkvcfluTqyEdqHGZ2ejYh0rbEPBK-c7eoOMQb-odZCQOjLXKwiyzefpFf0aUo-nhBe6eiqe-n1Rw0WGY1QrXtLfXmKRYO1aAgSKZbBJSuAsBP99TaoH2RKbfptuewQc2V2O7ez-DxwXBzPszHMjBv8j6HGMrowwlFiGlhQNjxd8UBFkqQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representatives from the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) told the San Miguel County Planning Commission on May 8 that the agency uses a standardized, data-driven process to calculate reclamation bonds and to monitor financial warranties for mines in the county.

DRMS environmental protection specialist Amy Yadell demonstrated the agency's cost-estimating software (SIRSES/CIRCE) and said the division's approach is designed to produce an amount that will cover the cost to complete reclamation by a third party if an operator forfeits a bond. \"We simply could not trust the operators to tell us how much they think that their bond should be,\" Yadell said, describing why the division uses the software and a set of nationally-sourced cost data.

The briefing explained why the division's bond amounts are often higher than operator estimates. Yadell said a DRMS bond must include direct reclamation costs (equipment hours, haul distances and material volumes) plus indirect costs the state would incur if it must contract and manage reclamation work. Those indirect costs include contractor overhead and profit, insurance and performance bonds, a superintendent, administrative and contract-management fees, and a contingency allowance for uncertainty.

Yadell demonstrated how SIRSES assembles tasks (for example, dozing, hauling and seeding), applies productivity and correction factors drawn from the CAT handbook and other industry sources, then rolls up a complete estimate. She said DRMS updates much of the database annually (equipment and contractor rates, for example) and surveys seed and material vendors every three to four years to keep revegetation costs current. Yadell described SIRSES as a transparency and audit tool: the system prints a task-by-task PDF that shows quantities, equipment and the source of unit costs.

Russ Means, representing Colorado Dreams (a DRMS outreach/consulting partner who introduced the presenters), and Sarah Stevenson-Ben, DRMS's financial warranty specialist, also spoke. Stevenson-Ben described how the division accepts and audits financial warranties (cash, certified letters of credit, corporate sureties, CDs) and that DRMS annually audits banks and sureties to ensure instruments remain in force. \"We will use the words financial warranty and bond kind of interchangeably,\" she said, and explained DRMS sends operators a notice and typically allows 60 days to correct shortfalls after a surety increase or other change.

DRMS staff gave county-specific context: Yadell said San Miguel County currently has 15 active mine permits, five county pits used by road and bridge, and roughly $1.8 million in reclamation bonds held for sites in the county. Over the past 25 years, DRMS staff said three new permits were approved (all construction materials permits), and the division reported 88 sites that achieved final reclamation or termination statewide in the time period referenced.

Commissioners asked about how DRMS treats off-site impacts such as fugitive dust and water quality. DRMS staff said air-quality and many off-site nuisance issues are handled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) or by county authorities. Yadell said DRMS's statutory jurisdiction is focused on reclamation, erosion control and on-site erosion protection; she noted DRMS will coordinate with CDPHE and local agencies when off-site impacts appear to be an issue.

DRMS staff also described interagency coordination: they cited memoranda of understanding with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service (DRMS typically serves as the primary financial warranty holder under those MOUs) and said the Department of Energy is the primary bond holder for certain DOE-licensed uranium work, with DRMS holding a statutory $100 bond on those lands.

Why this matters: county staff and commissioners are updating local mining regulations and asked DRMS for technical input. DRMS said it would continue to provide technical comments and clarified that the bond calculation method is intended to produce a reliable, defensible dollar amount that the state can use to pay contractors and complete reclamation if an operator fails to do so.

Ending: DRMS staff encouraged local jurisdictions to request their county-assigned environmental protection specialist for site-specific questions and said the division is working on a web-based version of SIRSES that could be shared with operators and partner agencies once funding and publication arrangements are finalized.","Officials from Colorado's Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety gave San Miguel County planning commissioners a technical briefing on how reclamation bonds are calculated, demonstrated the SIRSES estimating software and described monitoring of financial warranties.","actionData","errors"]

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Planning panel backs Telluride Airport wetland permit with conditions after consultant briefings

State reclamation staff explain how Colorado sets mine reclamation bonds, show software behind estimates