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<br />SAN JUAN RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL <br />RESOLUTION No. 01- <br />MARCH , 2001 <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />DRAFT: 03/15/01 <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the San Juan Resource Conservation and Development Council ("Council") <br />was organized to lead local efforts for improving the economic and social conditions of the San <br />Juan resource area in La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores, Archuleta and San Juan Counties through <br />development, conservation and proper use of the resources of the area; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, serious metals contamination from historic mining practices in the Red <br />Mountain and Silverton Mining districts has been identified and analyzed for remediation <br />feasibility by the Animas River Stakeholders Group ("ARSG"). Mineral Creek in the Silverton <br />area is currently on the State of Colorado's 303 (d) list of stream segments out of compliance <br />with State water quality standards and has been designated as having the highest cleanup <br />priority. Through sampling water quality and mine waste sites in Upper Mineral Creek, ARSG <br />has determined Kohler Tunnel drainage contributes the largest amounts of aluminum, cadmium, <br />copper, and zinc to the Animas River watershed of any single source. Accordingly, the ARSG <br />has given Kohler Tunnel drainage the highest priority for remediation; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Kohler Tunnel drains water believed to be entering the San Antonio <br />Mine. Recent geophysical investigations indicate a high potential that the Carbon Lake Ditch <br />("Ditch"), a trans-basin diversion which diverts from Mineral Creek, is leaking water into the <br />mine workings. Mine maps show that open stopes exist directly under the Ditch. Once water <br />enters a mine, the process of acid rock drainage begins and metals and acids are leached out of <br />the rock, enhanced by a bio-catalytic process in an aerobic environment; and <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />WHEREAS, treatment of Kohler Tunnel acid mine drainage would be extremely <br />expensive and would need to be carried on in perpetuity. Although passive wetland treatment <br />might be successful, renewal of the medium and disposal of accumulated wastes would cost over <br />one half million dollars per year. Active treatment, requiring a power supply, and the additional <br />costs of infrastructure, power, and maintenance would also produce a large amount of waste <br />which would need to be disposed; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, rather than treating the water discharged from the Kohler Tunnel, a more <br />practical approach would be to eliminate the source of the water that infiltrates the mine, making <br />perpetual treatment unnecessary or greatly reducing the extent of required treatment. Conveying <br />the entire 15 c.f.s. of the Carbon Lake Ditch water rights in a pipeline, however, would also be <br />very costly and mechanically difficult at best, given the extreme environmental conditions of this <br />high elevation, alpine ditch; and; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, ARSG proposes that the Council purchase 80%, or preferably all, of the <br />water rights in the Carbon Lake Ditch and, under a separate agreement, donate these rights to the <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board ("CWCB") for instream flow use in the Mineral Creek <br />Basin. This purchase and donation would reduce water infiltration into the mine workings, .. <br />provide enhanced flows to Big Horn Creek and Mineral Creeks and restore the natural .. <br />hydrological regime of the area; and <br />