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Mountain Coal Company <br />July 15, 2016 <br />Mr. Leigh D. Simmons <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />Office of Mined Land Reclamation <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Mountain Coal Company, LLC <br />West Elk Mine <br />5174 Highway 133 <br />Somerset, CO 81434 <br />Kathleen G. Welt <br />Environmental EaAlifter III <br />kweitgawtAIFU <br />Qp .2.238 <br />M <br />Re: Mountain Coal Company, LLC, West Elk Mine; Permit No. C-1980-007; <br />Water Year 2015 Annual Hydrology Report <br />Dear Mr. Simmons: <br />Attached is a technical memo for the 2015 Annual Hydrology Report (AHR) prepared by <br />HydroGeo, Inc. for Mountain Coal Company, LLC (MCC) that provides a summary of <br />the water year 2015 (WY2015) water quality and quantity data, assessments of mine - <br />induced hydrology impacts, along with a summary of MCC's current monitoring <br />program. With this year's AHR, MCC has reduced the bulk of the report by eliminating <br />repeated general discussions that have been included in the AHR for the past 15+ <br />years. We are also referencing information in past AHRs, if that information has not <br />changed during the past year, rather than providing a duplicate copy this year. Such is <br />the case for Maps 1 and 2, as there were no new water inflows within the E seam, and <br />the location of monitoring stations has not changed. <br />MCC pumped about 284.5 acre feet of its adjudicated water right from the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River for mine uses, including domestic water, surface dust control and <br />for the underground mine operations — the largest water use. Most of the water pumped <br />in the mine is absorbed in the mined coal and gob, is evaporated in the mine ventilation <br />air and seeps into the mine floor. Along with domestic water and road dust control <br />uses, water is used on the surface in the coal preparation plant. MCC was again <br />successful during WY2015 with maintaining zero discharges (i.e. no CDPS discharges <br />from the mine site) and continued to recycle water from the ponds for use in the Coal <br />Preparation Plant. As a result, it is estimated that less than 50 acre feet were <br />consumed by the mine operations during WY 2015. <br />Please don't hesitate to contact me at (970) 929-2238 or by e-mail should you have <br />questions regarding this submittal. <br />Sincerely, <br />Kathleen G. Welt, <br />Environmental Engineer III <br />cc: Dan Gray - USFS <br />Weston Norris - MCC <br />