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MR -76 — Permanent Pond Demonstrations <br />Page 2 <br />Please update the permanent impoundment demonstrations for ponds 009 and 015 to <br />indicate how SCC and/or the landowner will comply with the SEO requirement. Also, if <br />there will be action required of the landowner after bond has been released from these <br />ponds to comply with the SEO requirement; please submit documentation that the <br />landowner is willing and able to complete this requirement. If the landowner is unable to <br />comply with the requirement, SCC will need to update the design and construction of the <br />impoundment to allow the release of the impounded water or remove its request to leave <br />these impoundments as permanent facilities. <br />Response: <br />a) DRMS is correct; SCC is not the legal owner of either pond or the land under them <br />and no water rights are held on either pond. <br />b) SCC is only responsible for maintenance of the ponds until release of the final Phase <br />III Reclamation Bond (not in perpetuity). These ponds are the responsibility of the <br />landowner after Phase III. SCC cannot bind future landowners to comply with gny <br />regulation, including the DRMS. <br />c) If or when future calls on water occur, the means of pond dewatering will then be the <br />decision of the State Division of Water Resources. The State Division of Water <br />Resources can determine the most effective method at that time. There are numerous <br />methods to dewater a pond; breaching, siphoning, pumping, etc. <br />d) The landowner indicated responsibility and a willingness to comply with applicable <br />regulations when he signed the letter requesting the ponds be left permanent. Once <br />Phase III is released, all responsibility for these ponds rests on the landowner. <br />e) SCC cannot ensure that the landowner(s) will comply with an agreement to provide <br />DRMS approved maintenance or even keep the ponds in place in perpetuity. <br />f) Once SCC has no further liability for the ponds, the State Engineer's Office approvals <br />will be transferred to the landowner. The landowner's responsibility is no different <br />for a pond than any building, road, fence, vegetation or streams remaining after <br />mining. Once a landowner requests any feature be left permanent then SCC is <br />eligible for Phase III release on that feature. SCC's responsibility ends at the release <br />of Phase III. <br />g) The State Engineer's office approved the ponds as they exist without a dewatering <br />system. Hence, SCC respectfully declines the DRMS request to provide plans for a <br />dewatering method at this time. <br />2. The permanent impoundment demonstrations either submitted with MR 76 or that are <br />currently in the permit for Stock Ponds T -2, T -3, T -S, T -18, T -20, T -24, T -26, and T -27 <br />all indicate that the results of the 2012 water sample analysis are attached. However, <br />only 2009, 2010 and 2011 data is included in the appendix currently and the 2012 data <br />was not provided with MR 76. In order to determine if the water in these impoundments <br />currently meet the requirement of Rule 4.05.9(13)(a) and correspond to the statements <br />