2016-12-20_HYDROLOGY - M1977493 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Porzak Browning & Bushong LLP A t t o r n e y s a a t 0 L a w 212013th Street,Boulder,CO 80302 Glenn E.Porzak 303 443-6800 Tel. Michael F.Browning 303 443-6864 Fax. Steven J.Bushong www.pbblaw.com Kristin Howse Moseley Kevin J.Kinnear Karen L.Henderson December 19, 2016 CF 0. 1 William D.Wombacher Cori A.Hach --DEC 2 0 2016 Via Hand Delivery _ Mr. Eric Scott DAASION OFF RECLAMATION -MIlv' AIyD Environmental Protection Specialist Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 RE: Climax Mine, Permit No. M-1977-493; Request for Demonstration of Compliance with WQCC Rule—Basic Standards for Groundwater Dear Mr. Scott: I am the general counsel of the Eagle Park Reservoir Company, and serve as special water counsel for the Eagle River Water& Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority(collectively the"Eagle River Parties"). The shareholders of the Eagle Park Reservoir Company consist of Vail Associates, Inc., the owner and operator of the Vail and Beaver Creek Ski Areas; the Colorado River Water Conservation District, which protects Western Colorado water resources on behalf of the 500,000 people in Northwest and West- Central Colorado west of the Continental Divide; the Board of County Commissioners of Eagle County, Colorado; and the Eagle River Water& Sanitation District and the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, which have separate boards of directors but have an integrated water system that provides water service to the 65,000 residents from Vail to Wolcott, Colorado. Eagle Park Reservoir is a major source of physical and augmentation water supply for these shareholders. This letter is written in response to the letter dated December 8, 2016, written by Raymond Lazuk on behalf of Climax Molybdenum Company and the accompanying report regarding the above-referenced matter. When Climax Molybdenum sought to reopen the mine, the Eagle River Parties were granted party status in the AM-06 permit amendment proceedings. The Eagle River Parties participated in the proceedings to ensure that Eagle Park Reservoir, which is directly adjacent to Climax's permit boundary, would be adequately protected from Climax's renewed mining operations. At the hearing held on April 13, 2011, the Mined Land Reclamation Board ("MLRB") denied the requested permit amendment for the Climax Mine, and set aside further consideration of AM-06 until a later date so that Climax and the Eagle River Parties could work together to resolve the outstanding concerns that were raised by the Eagle River Parties and others. 93001