Mined Land Reclamation Board approves Ogilvy River Farm pit permit over nearby landowner objections

The Mined Land Reclamation Board voted 4-1 on Jan. 15 to approve permit M-2024-006 for Ogilvy River Farm LLC to operate a sand-and-gravel pit on a 71.91-acre permit boundary near the South Platte River in Weld County.

Board members said the approval authorizes an initial Phase 1A excavation — described in the application as a “step 1” — that would allow mining to 8 feet below ground while keeping the excavation 24 inches above seasonal high groundwater. The permit also approves a later, deeper phase that relies on a slurry wall. That second phase cannot begin until the operator secures additional approvals, including a well permit and substitute water-supply plan from the Division of Water Resources, a discharge permit from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and a technical revision approved by the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS).

Why it matters: The operation sits within several dozen yards of an adjacent residence, and the hearing focused on whether the mine design and monitoring commitments protect the property owner’s access, water and structures. Objector Roberta Smith testified at length about proximity of a shop, an in-drive gas line and an inactive well, and about local river-channel shifts. Staff, the applicant and a DRMS geotechnical engineer said the permit package and the required follow-on permits provide safeguards.

Brock Bowles, DRMS lead specialist for the project, summarized the permit boundary and reclamation plan during staff presentation. “The red line that you see going around the whole project site, that is the permit boundary,” he said, adding that the operator’s bonded mining area is the area DRMS treats as the planned disturbance and that the agency can take enforcement action if the operator disturbs land outside the bonded footprint: “If the mine operator ever goes outside that line…