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V W RESOURCE <br />`.,/ HYDROGEOLOGIC <br />V SERVICES <br />for the monthly field parameter purges as well as the quarterly lab sample collection. A standard three - <br />volume purge of the well casing, while monitoring field parameters for stabilization, is now conducted <br />just prior to compliance sampling. <br />The Well #1 Upgradient is completed as a 6-5/8" steel -cased well to approximately 67 foot depth in the <br />Hay Gulch Alluvium. This well was sampled with a standard groundwater bailer in the period of record <br />of monitoring from 2005 through December 2015. In the March 2016 sampling event, a new 3-1/2" X <br />36" PVC bailer was used to achieve a full three -volume purge, however, the time required was <br />excessive when compared to the potential use of an electric submersible pump. In April 2016 a <br />dedicated, 4", 1/2 HP, 10 gallon per minute (gpm) stainless steel electric submersible pump was <br />installed on 1" schedule 40 PVC pipe with stainless steel couplings to approximately 60 foot depth. An <br />8" locking steel wellhead protector was installed over the existing 6-5/8" steel casing and an industry - <br />standard environmental monitoring well cement pad was installed to prevent potential surface -to - <br />groundwater contamination via casing conduit. All samples collected in April 2016 and since have <br />utilized this new dedicated submersible pump sampling system. <br />Although four quarterly water quality samples have now been collected (March, June, September, <br />December) and submitted for laboratory analysis at all current hydrologic monitoring sites, monthly field <br />parameter collection will continue through February 2017 to complete the one-year baseline period. <br />HYDROLOGIC MONITORING DATA ANALYSIS <br />A summary of water quality analyses from the Hay Gulch irrigation ditch (surface water), alluvial wells in <br />Hay Gulch and some regional bedrock wells (groundwater) was presented in the GCC 2015 Annual <br />Hydrology Report. This report focuses on analyses of samples collected in 2016. Surface water has <br />been sampled in the irrigation ditch at locations above and below the King I and II Mines, and alluvial <br />groundwater in three wells; and one seep from the base of the Cliff House Sandstone discovered in <br />2015 was sampled for four quarters in 2016. <br />SURFACE WATER <br />The Hay Gulch Ditch is a year-round diversion from 0.5 to 1.5 cubic feet per second from the La Plata <br />River into the gulch, which is otherwise an intermittent drainage that flows only during storms. Water <br />infiltrates from spreader dikes and infiltrates the alluvium, and return flows in the ditch are collected in <br />Mormon Reservoir approximately nine miles downstream of the King II Mine, and near the confluence <br />with the lower La Plata River. The Huntington Ditch and Pipeline also divert water from the upper La <br />Plata River to a collection point in Hay Gulch for use by the King II Mine, which is water that is <br />consumed by the mine principally for dust control with no waste or return flow. <br />Hay Gulch ditch water flows over and through the alluvium and accumulates dissolved solids from <br />extended contact with soils along flow paths. Figure 2 compares water quality analyses in the 2016 <br />samples collected in the ditch upstream (upgradient) and downstream (downgradient) of the King I and <br />GCC ENERGY, LLC <br />2016 ANNUAL HYDROLOGY REPORT <br />5 <br />