Silver Plume trustees say illegally cut road and moved mine tailings threaten Mountain Park; town awaits sheriff’s report

The Silver Plume Board of Trustees heard detailed evidence on Nov. 11 that a newly cut, roughly quarter‑mile road and associated excavation have been made through Silver Plume Mountain Park and adjacent private trust land, moving mine tailings and raising concerns about erosion and water contamination.

The town clerk presented a packet of maps, photos and GPS data from Clear Creek County Trails staff showing the park’s 7:30 Mine Road (marked in green) and a separate, freshly excavated dotted route that cuts across park land and privately held parcels. The clerk said county staff documented survey markers and took photos showing deep cuts through mine tailings and a shanty and lumber stored partly on land not owned by the apparent operator.

"It's going to be gone in spring with run off," Trustee Martin Gitlin said, warning of downstream contamination risks. "It's going to poison our water. It will poison our water." The clerk reported that she had a resident fly a drone to document vehicle and equipment tracks, and that she observed an ATV and a full‑size vehicle on the trail transporting a mini‑excavator.

County and state agencies have been notified. The clerk said she spoke with Jeremy Reinke (DRMS) and was referred to Russ Means, active‑mines program director; both offices reported there are no pending or active mining permits for the affected parcels. The clerk also said she contacted a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment staffer who works with the EPA because the mountain is a Superfund site.

The sheriff’s office has conducted an initial response; the clerk and trustees said witnesses were told the matter was civil on first contact but that the town has asked for the formal record and may request an addendum because there appear to be potential criminal elements, including unauthorized alteration of a public trail, unauthorized grading, and movement of mine tailings without permits. The clerk said the town has requested the sheriff’s report but has encountered delays obtaining records through the county system.

The clerk told the board that the person identified in a voicemail to the town attorney, Eli Josephs, said he was "doing some routine excavation on his property." The town attorney and the clerk said they were surprised by that characterization given the scope and location of the disturbance.

Trustees discussed interim steps, including the possibility of placing a vehicle gate at the trailhead rather than blocking the route with boulders. The board also noted that the Taylor Kennedy trust may own some of the traversed parcels and that one of the structures and lumber observed sit on trust land, not the operator’s claim, per the packet materials.

Next steps identified by the board: obtain the sheriff’s full report (and consider requesting an addendum if evidence supports criminal charges), have county and state agencies (DRMS, CDPHE/EPA) review the site data, and consider short‑term physical controls on vehicle access. The board did not take a formal enforcement action at the meeting and agreed to revisit the item once agency reports are available.

The town clerk provided the maps, photographic exhibits and county trails notes to the trustees; those materials were the basis for the board’s discussion and the town’s requests to outside agencies.