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George V. Patterson, Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. <br />Page 17 <br />February 12, 2015 <br />Regarding landowner concerns that mining impacts have caused fissures in the strata below Newlin <br />Creek and have decreased flows in the creek, the Division finds that there is no evidence to warrant <br />a detailed investigation of the issue. The geological data suggests that there is significant alluvium <br />below the creek, and any flows in the creek should be expected to infiltrate into this pervious <br />material. <br />One of the landowners, Dr. Corley, has indicated that in the mid 1980s he witnessed large flows in <br />the creek, and that beavers lived in Newlin Creek downstream of the reach above the Southfield <br />Mine workings. A review of a report on the diversion of Newlin Creek by the Division of Water <br />Resources indicates that there is no record of any diversions from the creek by the City of Florence <br />from December 1982 until February 1987.12 For many of the months in this period of time, the <br />recorded diversion is 0 acre feet, (note that no data is recorded from November 1983 to October <br />1985). <br />Regarding very low flows in Newlin Creek in recent years, a likely explanation is the drought that <br />has impacted southeastern Colorado for many years. In the fall of 2012, for example, the drought in <br />the area of the mine site was in severe to extreme drought. Drought conditions are tracked by the <br />National Drought Mitigation Center (http: / /droughtmonitor.unl.edu). <br />d) Impacts to Surface Water Quality <br />In attachment C of the TR43 submittal, EFCI provided a summary of water quality data from the <br />five stream sampling locations. This comprises minimum, average and maximum values for each <br />parameter, measured between 1991 and 2013 (for MCI and SA 1) or between 1997 and 2013 (for <br />NCI, NC2 and MC2). This data is not sufficient to make a judgment as to the impact of the <br />Southfield Mine on the quality of water flowing in these streams. <br />Discharge records from the pond outlets were not provided. <br />i) The full data set of surface water quality measurements from MCI, MC2, NCI, NC2 and <br />SAI should be analyzed. The analysis should track representative water quality <br />parameters through time (for example TSS and TDS), and allow the identification of any <br />trends that may exist in the data. <br />ii) If the data is available, the analysis should include the grab samples from pond water <br />(related to TR42 and TR44 adequacy issues). <br />The proposed decision date for TR43 is February 16, 2015. <br />Yours sincerely, <br />Leigh Simmons <br />CC. Jeff Fugate, jef£fugatekstate.co.us <br />Dr. W. D. Corley, aiickatt.net <br />