Text of a letter sent by the Southern Environmental Law Center:
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Deborah S. Kendall, Director
Orange County Planning and Zoning
112 West Main Street
Orange, VA  22960

Dear Ms. Kendall:

    Our office was contacted today, January 2, about Thursday's hearing
to consider a special use permit for mining in the Barboursville area.  We
hope that you will convey our concerns to the Planning Commission.

Because of the holidays, we understand that the Barboursville residents who
will be affected only recently learned about this proposal. Yet these
residents, including some whose landholdings go back to the formation of a
community of emancipated slaves after the Civil War, would be greatly
affected by the mining activities.  Not only will the historic landscape,
valuable to Orange's tourism, be affected, but also area streams and
groundwater could be impacted both by the run-off from the activity and
water withdrawals. 

Special use classifications are intended to allow officials the ability and
authority to design requirements for site-specific activities that are not
allowed by right and therefore which may have impacts on nearby property.
The ramifications of mining on this land need to be carefully studied before
making a decision to grant a special use permit.  At a minimum, the Planning
Commission should continue the public hearing to allow for additional
information to address the historic resources and surface and ground water
quality concerns.

                Sincerely,

                Katherine E. Slaughter
                Senior Attorney

KES/cs