We have lived on County Road 120 since 1984. I can honestly say that we lived in harmony with King Coal I, even Grupo Cementos de Chihuahu, until they got greedy. In search of profit, GCC has managed to disrupt the lives of residents in La Plata County by tripling their number of coal trucks.
Its website states: “As members of the communities where we operate, we have an important responsibility that goes beyond compliance with environmental and health factors. In environmental matters, GCC fosters the development and implementation of systems that prevent, control and reduce environmental impacts of all our operational processes. We firmly believe that relationships with our customers, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, employees and communities where we operate should be based on ethics, integrity, collaboration, excellence and innovation.”
GCC assured us at its continuance hearing (October 2015) that it would not run trucks in inclement weather to ensure our safety. That promise was indeed broken. Multiple storms have left coal trucks blocking CR 120, resulting in safety hazards and cars stuck in ditches.
When analyzing air quality, safety and other health impacts, an environmental analysis has said that 47 trucks a day is safe for residents living on this road. We welcome those 47 semis and GCC’s employees. We wish them safe travels. Unfortunately, GCC is running more than 100 semis each day on a farm-to-market road.
Recently, the term NIMBY was brought to my attention – Not In My BackYard. Residents south of GCC do not want the coal traffic, understandably. The fact of the matter is, all county roads in this area are too windy, too narrow, too dangerous and too dusty for the number of coal trucks GCC wishes to run.
If GCC must run more than 100 coal trucks daily to be profitable, it is up to it to figure out how. We recommend it builds a private haul road so residents on CR 120 do not have to continue enduring the entire burden. We have breathed dust, had sleepless nights and worried for our safety for far too long.
Julie McCue
Hesperus
