2018-05-03_REVISION - C1982056 (2)

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M May 3, 2018 Ms. Tabetha Lynch COLORADO Parks and Wildlife Department of Natural Resources Steamboat Service Center 925 Weiss Drive Steamboat, CO 80477 P 970.870.2197 1 F 970.870.2853 Environmental Protection Specialist Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS) 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 Re: Foidel Creek Mine Thickener Underflow Borehole and Pipeline Technical Revision No. 90 (TR -90) Dear Ms. Lynch: Thank you for giving Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) an opportunity to comment on the Foidel Creek Mine Thickener Underflow Borehole and Pipeline Technical Revision No. 90. It is our understanding that, if approved, the applicant will construct, operate and reclaim four thickener underflow (TUF) boreholes and install additional pipelines in the Western Mining District. It is also our understanding that the proposed boreholes will be drilled within approximately 300 feet of County Road 27. Construction activities will include removal and stockpiling of soil material, construction of drainage structures, minor cut and fill grading, and excavation of temporary cutting pits on the drill pad locations. All proposed disturbance activities will occur within previously disturbed areas, and the proposed disturbance features will occupy areas within the approved disturbance footprint for Foidel Creek Mine. CPW has worked collaboratively with the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) and Foidel Creek Mine to develop site-specific mitigation that will help reduce, minimize or avoid impacts to wildlife and wildlife habitat associated with the mine. These mitigation practices have been documented via other correspondence documents with OSMRE, and CPW believes that the proposed activities fall within the scope of anticipated impacts that were considered and included in these documents. Because the proposed activities will occur in close proximity to County Road 27, and in addition to impacts associated with mining activities, because construction operations will occur within an area that has been heavily impacted by grazing by livestock and conversion from native vegetation to non-native farmland, CPW does not anticipate this action will directly affect wildlife OF c�10 Bob D. Broscheid, Director, Colorado Parks and Wildlife • Parks and Wildlife Commission: Robert W. Bray • Marie Haskett • Carrie Besnette Hauser 0 John Howard, Chair • Marvin McDaniel • Dale Pizel • Jim Spehar • James Vigil, Secretary • Dean Wingfield • Michelle Zimmerman, Vice -Chair • Alex Zipp * E t " lg�6