2015-10-08_REVISION - C1981041 (12)

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significant spike in discharge during the irrigation season. These data show that past water diversion practices have not resulted in increased discharge at Outfall 016 (see Attachment 13 - Outfall 016 Discharge Comparison). As described in greater detail below, the Division will withhold from release certain affected areas that may be in hydrologic communication with underground workings below the surface. Because of the uncertainty whether or not water applied to the land would eventually make its way down to the Northwest Intake Pool and be discharged through Outfall 016, the Division proposes to withhold from final bond release 114.1 acres of affected area and 8.0 acres of disturbed area. These acreages withheld are located between the point of water application on the Fontanari property and Outfall 016 and are down dip or have the potential for hydrologic communication between the surface and the underground workings. Since 016 began discharging in April 2002, SCC has reported one exceedance of iron in November 2002; no violation was issued by the Water Quality Control Division. There have been no other exceedances of any other effluent limitations for Outfall 016. Outfall 016 will discharge in perpetuity due to continued groundwater inflow to the underground mine workings. As previously described, there is evidence to suggest that water applied to the land surface above the South Portal is in communication with the South Portal Backfill french drain system. This was verified in June, 2014 when Mr. Fontanari applied a large amount of his Rapid Creek irrigation water to the surface at a location on his property above and up gradient of the South Portal backfill. The Division was first made aware of Mr. Fontanari applying a large amount of water to the land above the portals via a trench system and the Carey Pond on June 11, 2014. On June 11, 2014, Mr. Rudy Fontanari, Trevor Grosse (Mr. Fontanari's son in law) came to the Division's Grand Junction Field office to meet with Dan Hernandez (DRMS) and myself to discuss their concerns and their objection to the SL -8 Bond Release application. On the morning of June 11, we made arrangements to meet with Jim Stover of J.E. Stover & Associates (representing SCC) at the mine site to view and discuss Mr. Fontanari's concerns related to subsidence and hydrology impacts. We viewed several features that Mr. Fontanari indicated he believed were subsidence related. One such feature on the Fontanari property appears to be a reclaimed vent shaft that shows signs of erosion and slumping. These features, as well as the water application site, are on Fontanari property but are not included in the SL -8 application and are not being considered for release at this time. The majority of the inspection focused on viewing the water application that Mr. Fontanari was implementing on his property and on the adjacent land to the west owned by Mr. Jason Carey. When we arrived at the site we noted a large amount of flow in Mr. Fontanari's existing lower diversion ditch that runs from the east to west and brings water from his headgate on Rapid Creek (Photograph No 37). Mr. Fontanari stated that he has a water right from Rapid Creek and that he had been running the water out to this location for approximately four weeks. He stated that it was flowing at around 4 cfs, but based on visual inspection it appeared to be somewhat less than that. The water was flowing from his existing ditch that had recently been cleaned out into the pond on the Carey property (Carey Pond). We observed that the Carey Pond had recently been enlarged by more than twice its prior size and the excavated material was stockpiled around and to the north of the pond. The pond was nearly full of water (see Photograph No 38). We also noted that Mr. Fontanari dug a new ditch (Photo No 39) that is perpendicular to the existing ditch and runs to the north approximately 350 feet towards I- 70 and the South Portal area. At the end of the ditch, it turns 90 degrees to the west and terminates at Page 31