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STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />COLORADO <br />Phone: (303) 866.3567 <br />D IV I S I ON OF <br />RECLAMATION <br />FAX: (303) 832 -8106 <br />MINING <br />SAFETY <br />INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM <br />ove oHickenlooper <br />Mike King <br />Executive Director <br />Loretta E. Piiieda <br />TO: Dan Hernandez <br />Director <br />FROM: Mike Boulay /lB <br />DATE: June 3, 2013 <br />SUBJECT: Southfield Mine Permit No. C- 1981 -014 <br />Groundwater Review related to Citizen Complaint <br />At your request I have reviewed the citizen's complaints regarding groundwater quality and <br />quantity at the Southfield Mine property. We have received two complaints from K2T LLC <br />( Vento Family) landowners at the mine property. The first was dated July 24, 2012 received via <br />e -mail and the second was to our Division Director dated October 2, 2012. The landowners <br />stated in their 7/24/12 e-mail to DRMS that their complaint was "regarding a lack of adequate <br />well testing to ensure water quality and quantity standards on a 400 -acre property that has been a <br />coal mine and has a 35 -acre coal tailings pile" and ... "Our goal is that adjacent domestic wells <br />have drinkable water according to the Federal Clean Water Act and Senate Bill 89- 181 - Colorado <br />Water Quality Control Act." In addition to the landowners' concern that Southfield's mining <br />activities might result in groundwater in domestic wells located beyond their property lines not <br />meeting drinking water standards, the landowners have also stated that they will have to have a <br />well within their property lines that meets drinking water standards. In their 7/24/12 e -mail to <br />DRMS, the landowner's state, "Since the City of Florence water pipe that comes across our <br />property is untreated; there is no way that we will ever be able to connect to it for potable water. <br />Therefore, we will have to have a well(s) that can pass the Secondary Drinking Water Standards <br />before Energy Fuels leaves the site ". In the October 2, 2012 letter K2T LLC reiterates that they <br />are extremely concerned about the neighboring properties wells and the possibility of <br />contamination created by Southfield and attached groundwater data for Monitoring Wells 23 and <br />16 located at the mine. Further, they stated their concern that Newlin Creek seems to have <br />disappeared and they question what has happened to Newlin Creek. <br />In order to address the Vento Family's concerns you have asked me to 1) Assess whether or not <br />water in Southfield's flooded mine workings, as well as water down gradient of the mine needs to <br />meet water quality standards; and 2) Assess whether the current groundwater monitoring <br />program is adequate to determine the effects of mining activities on the quantity and quality of <br />groundwater in the permit area and adjacent areas. With assistance from other DRMS staff, I <br />Office of Office of <br />Mined land Rerlamatinn Denver • grand lunr-tinn - nimanvn Arti— ­I 1—ti— Min <br />