Those who spoke the loudest at the Hay Gulch community advisory meeting recently were the really tired ones in raspy voices that were very hard to hear. They are the residents of County Road 120 north, otherwise known as Hay Gulch Road. The ones affected the most are the ones who live closer to the road. Exposed to the offal of 120-plus trucks a day.

The diesel and dust means there are no picnics to be had in the vicinity, not even on Sunday because 120 trucks is 240 trips, every day, and on through the night. The high decibels, and headlights, along with the rumble strips on the paved area are keeping nearby residents awake every night. The list of traffic and safety concerns is long. Mining 130 million tons of coal per year is too heavy an industry to run through a residential area without some mitigation.

It seems the only decent thing La Plata County and the Chihuahua Coal Group can do is to limit coal truck traffic and give nearby residents a little breathing room in order to better focus on the long-term solutions for the growing industry.

Ryan Osborne

Hesperus