GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Colorado agencies have sent cease-and-desist orders to a landowner, telling him to stop discharges of water on his property that have weakened walls of a canyon where Interstate 70 passes through.
The Daily Sentinel reported Friday that state officials have accused Rudolph Fontanari of pouring large amounts of water into a dry basalt rock quarry, threatening businesses and motorists in De Beque Canyon.
The state attorney general's office told Fontanari's lawyer in a letter last month that the state Department of Transportation will work with police to pursue legal action if he doesn't heed the warning.
Fontanari says most of the water that accumulated in the quarry came from a collapsed mine.
The Mined Land Reclamation Board is expecting Fontanari to appear before it this month to explain the water.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com
