DENVER – A mining and safety field office in Durango is expected to close its doors June 30.

The director of the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety – a branch of the Department of Natural Resources – confirmed that the office space at 691 County Road 233, in the Grandview Area, will close after the location became too expensive upon a lease renewal.

The office largely handles mineral and coal-specific issues related to regulations and reclamation, including permitting.

Only three staff members will be affected. Two employees are moving to the Denver office, one of whom received a promotion and would have moved to Denver anyway; another employee is in the process of retiring.

Operations for the Southwest Colorado region will be addressed through the division’s Grand Junction office.

“We had been wondering about the economic feasibility of that office for some time, and then finally, the issue was pushed to the forefront when we had to renegotiate our lease, and we were unable to get acceptable terms of that renegotiation,” said Ginny Brannon, director of the division.

“We were down to three people in the office, and it just did not make sense to keep it open since it was not a prudent use of state resources,” she said.

pmarcus@durangoherald.com