HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/21/2012 - RESOLUTION 2012-012 AUTHORIZING A REVOCABLE PERMITDATE: February 21, 2012
STAFF: John Stokes, Mark Sears
Daylan Figgs
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 17
SUBJECT
Resolution 2012-012 Authorizing a Revocable Permit for Lafarge West, Inc. to Access and Complete Initial Work to
Repair a Breach in the Riverbank Within the Archery Range Natural Area.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Lafarge West, Inc. owns and operates the Port of Entry (POE) Gravel Mine adjacent to Running Deer and Archery
Range Natural Areas. During the spring runoff in 2011, Poudre River flows overtopped the River bank on the
northwest corner of the POE Pit and eroded the bank back to the River so deeply that the River bank was breached
and the River was completely diverted through the gravel mine and back into the River at the southeast corner of the
pit. The breach is partially located within the Archery Range Natural Area. Lafarge has developed a plan to repair
the breach and return the Poudre River to its former channel prior to spring 2011 runoff. The revocable permit is
needed to allow Lafarge access to the City property and begin implementation of the plan within the time frame being
required by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS) conducted a site inspection of the POE Pit and
determined that Lafarge was in violation of state mining regulations. In January 2012, the Colorado Mined Land
Reclamation Board stated that it would issue an order and requiring a technical revision be submitted within thirty days
from the date of the written order describing Lafarge’s plans to return the Cache la Poudre River to the channel that
existed prior to the breach. It is anticipated that the order, which has yet to be issued, will also require that substantial
steps be taken towards the implementation of the technical revision no later than thirty days from the approval date
of the technical revision.
Lafarge has developed a plan to repair the breach and return the Poudre River to its former channel. The revocable
permit is needed to allow Lafarge to access the City property and begin implementation of the plan within the time
frame outlined by CDRMS.
A complicating factor to this project is the location of breach; it is located within a River segment that has significant
river bank stability issues, primarily due to the historic gravel mining adjacent to the River. Following a series of River
breaches in the area in 1997 and again in 1999, the City funded a River Stability Study in 2001 to better understand
the bank stability issues and look at methods to address the issues. The City shared the results with the landowners,
mining permit holders, and other potentially affected parties in the area, and hosted several meetings in an attempt
to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing the bank stability issues. Unfortunately this effort did not result
in a comprehensive plan to stabilize the River banks and as a result, breaches like the ones that occurred in 1997 and
1999 have continued.
It is important to note that Lafarge’s repair of this breach will not address the overall bank stability issues; as such this
project is considered the first phase of a larger project that will occur in the future. The primary focus of Phase I is to
repair the breach in the embankment and redirect the River back into its former channel before spring runoff begins
in 2012. The City will continue to work with Lafarge and potentially others on the design and implementation of a more
comprehensive project addressing the stability issues.
In the Phase I project, Lafarge will reconstruct approximately 200 feet of river embankment that occurs both on Lafarge
property and Archery Range NA. The embankment side slope will be constructed at a 3:1 slope and armored with rock
riprap from the toe of the slope to the top of the River bank. Material used to construct the embankment will be covered
with topsoil and seeded to native vegetation. Additional work will occur within the River bed to fill areas scoured out
during the breach and remove sediment deposited downstream of the breach. Redirecting the River flow back into
the channel will help protect the cottonwood trees and riparian habitat within Running Deer and Archery Range Natural
Area.
February 21, 2012 -2- ITEM 17
Phase II of the project will be designed after the completion of Phase I and is anticipated to include additional work
both on and off the City Property. As part of Phase II, Lafarge will be required to obtain from the City any permanent
easements required and meet compensation and mitigation required by the Natural Areas and Conserved Lands
Easement Policy. The revocable permit will require Lafarge to obtain a permanent easement for Phase I including
all compensation and mitigation requirements. Staff expects to present the Phase I and Phase II easements to the
City Council for approval at the same time, and depending upon the details of the work, the terms and conditions for
Phase I and Phase II may be consolidated into one easement document.
Natural Areas staff recognizes that not having a fully executed easement in place at the time of the repair may pose
some risk to the City; however, staff believes that the risk is less than the risk of not allowing the repair to be made
until after an easement can be executed. If Lafarge were to wait until after an easement could be executed, it would
likely delay the repair to after spring runoff. Staff is concerned that allowing the 2012 runoff event to flow through the
gravel pit will cause the breach to enlarge, continue to erode the River bed upstream, and increase the damage to the
River channel. Further, the existing River channel is effectively dewatered and continuing this condition may cause
irreversible damage to the cottonwood trees and riparian habitat.
FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS
Lafarge has agreed to pay $1,500 to cover the cost to administer the Phase I Revocable Permit.
Prior to implementing Phase II Lafarge will be required to obtain any permanent easements required and compensate
Natural Areas for future administrative fees, the value of the easements, and ecological good and service values as
outlined in the Easement Policy.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Impacts that occur during Phase I construction activities will be restored to the current version of the Natural Areas
and Conserved Lands Resource Protection Standards. The loss in ecological services that results from granting the
revocable permit will be considered in Phase II of the project. Natural Areas will be compensated for this impact
through mitigation efforts, cash, or a combination of both as outlined in the Easement Policy.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution.
BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
At its February 8, 2012 meeting, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board discussed this topic and voted
unanimously to recommend authorization of the revocable permit to LaFarge, Inc.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Several meetings have occurred to discuss this project and have involved Larimer County, City of Fort Collins Natural
Areas and Utilities Departments, Boxelder Sanitation District, Colorado Department of Water Resources, and the
Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety. In addition, this topic was discussed at the Colorado Mined
Land Board in January 2012.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Location map
2. Land Conservation and Stewardship Board minutes, February 8, 2012
RUNNING DEER NATURAL AREA
ARAPAHO BEND NATURAL AREA
RIVERBEND PONDS NATURAL AREA
VANGBO PROPERTY
ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER
KINGFISHER POINT NATURAL AREA
CATTAIL CHORUS NATURAL AREA
COTTONWOOD HOLLOW NATURAL AREA
ARCHERY RANGE NATURAL AREA
EAGLE VIEW NATURAL AREA
PROSPECT PONDS NATURAL AREA
THE COTERIE
TIMBERLINE
HARMONY
ZIEGLER
PROSPECT
DRAKE
HORSETOOTH
HORSETOOTH
MAIN
4TH
KECHTER
COUNTY ROAD 5
BUSS GROVE
PROSPECT
LINCOLN
COUNTY ROAD 7
COUNTY ROAD 9
COUNTY ROAD 36
PRIVATE DRIVE
RIVERSIDE
COUNTY ROAD 5
HIGHWAY 14
MULBERRY
MULBERRY
INTERSTATE 25
INTERSTATE 25
Archery Range Natural Area Location Map
Natural Areas General
City Natural Areas
City Open Lands
Other Agency Natural Areas
Created by City of Fort Collins Natural Areas - 2012
Water Bodies ¹
City Natural Areas
City Open Lands
Other Agency Natural Areas
0 0.25 0.5 1
Miles
ARCHERY RANGE NATURAL AREA
ATTACHMENT 1
River Leaves Existing Channel
River Returns to Existing
Channel
F L O W
RESOLUTION 2012-012
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING A REVOCABLE PERMIT FOR LAFARGE WEST, INC.,
TO ACCESS AND COMPLETE INITIAL WORK TO REPAIR A BREACH IN THE
RIVERBANK WITHIN THE ARCHERY RANGE NATURAL AREA
WHEREAS, Lafarge West, Inc. (“Lafarge”), owns and operates a gravel mine in Larimer
County known as the Port of Entry Pit (the “POE Pit”); and
WHEREAS, during spring runoff in 2011, flows in the Cache La Poudre River overtopped
the riverbank near the northwest corner of the POE Pit, and the erosive effect of the flows into the
POE Pit resulted in a breach of the riverbank that diverted flows from the riverbed into the POE Pit;
and
WHEREAS, the breach of the riverbank is located on a portion of the City’s Archery Range
Natural Area, described on Exhibit “A”, attached and incorporated herein by this reference (the
“Permit Area”); and
WHEREAS, the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (“CDRMS”), which
permits and regulates mining activities in the State, has determined that the breach constitutes a
violation of the legal requirements applicable to Lafarge’s mining of the POE Pit; and
WHEREAS, CDRMS has presented its findings to the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation
Board at that Board’s January 2012 meeting, and as a result of that discussion of the issue, Lafarge
has been directed to develop plans for immediate steps to repair the breach before the 2012 spring
runoff, and to prepare a technical permit revision for CDRMS approval; and
WHEREAS, although additional analysis and more extensive work will be required to
address the river stability issues caused by the proximity of the POE Pit to the river, immediate work
is needed in order to prevent aggravation of the existing condition by high flows in the coming
months; and
WHEREAS, Lafarge has committed to working with the City and with other affected
property owners in the vicinity to design and implement more comprehensive measures to address
the river stability issues; and
WHEREAS, in order to carry out the immediate work to repair the breach, Lafarge has
requested that the City grant a revocable permit for access, to and reconstruction of, the riverbank
within the Permit Area, consistent with plans to be approved by the City; and
WHEREAS, the revocable permit will require that Lafarge cover the reconstructed area with
topsoil and suitable native vegetation, and otherwise perform its work in accordance with the City’s
Natural Areas and Conserved Lands Resource Protection Standards; and
WHEREAS, Lafarge will be required to pay $1,500 to cover City administrative costs
associated with processing the requested revocable permit; and
WHEREAS, Lafarge will further be required to enter into a permanent easement agreement
for ongoing maintenance and repair of the riverbank, and to obtain a permanent easement from the
City in order to carry out the future obligations on, and in the vicinity of, the Permit Area; and
WHEREAS, it is in the City’s interest for the riverbank to be repaired and reconstructed prior
to high flows in spring 2012, and the granting of a revocable permit as described herein will enable
that work to proceed; and
WHEREAS, Article XI, Section 10 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council to permit
the use of occupation of any street, alley, or public place, provided that such permit shall be
revocable by the City Council at its pleasure, whether or not such right to revoke is expressly
reserved in such permit.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby finds and determines that the granting of a
revocable permit, as described herein, is for the benefit of the citizens of Fort Collins and in the
interest of the City.
Section 2. That the City Manager is hereby authorized to execute such documents as are
necessary to grant a revocable permit to Lafarge, consistent with the terms of this Resolution,
together with such additional terms and conditions as the City Manager, in consultation with the City
Attorney, determines to be necessary and appropriate to protect the interests of the City or to
effectuate the purposes of this Resolution, including any necessary corrections to the legal
descriptions thereof that do not result in a material increase or change in character of the Permit
Area.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 21st
day of February A.D. 2012.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
ARCHERY RANGE NATURAL AREA
RUNNING DEER NATURAL AREA
¹
Lafarge Breach POE Pit Project Location
Created by City of Fort Collins Natural Areas - 2012
Project Area
Larimer County
Project Boundary
Natural Areas
0 50 100 200 300 400
Feet
EXHIBIT A
Project Location