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JAMES A.BECKWITH <br /> FONTANARI OBJECTIONS AND COMMENTS I SNOWCAP BOND APPLICATION SL-1 1 I PG. 12 <br /> mining activity. As the successor-in-interest to all Powderhorn Coal Company's water rights, <br /> Snowcap is the holder of Colorado Well Permit 33210-F and a decreed water right (Case No. <br /> 86CW90) relating to the ground water flowing through the Roadside Mine. (Fontanari <br /> Exhibits 23 and 24) <br /> Investigation has revealed that the surface flow in Rapid Creek (in which Fontanari <br /> has an unconditional decreed water right) has been diminished by coal mining conducted <br /> under Rapid Creek and the groundwater flowing through the Roadside Mine. Specifically, <br /> Snowcap has allowed the groundwater to flow through the Roadside Mine without application <br /> of that water to any beneficial use for over 18 years. Regulation of groundwater management <br /> is under the State Water Engineer's exclusive jurisdiction, as detailed below. Fontanari has <br /> given notice to Snowcap of his intent to seek judicial relief from the 5th District Water Court, <br /> in Glenwood Springs. Balancing the DRMS Rule with the exclusive jurisdiction of the State <br /> Water Engineer requires that S L-I I at the very least not be granted, if not denied, until after <br /> the 5th District Water Court renders its final decision. <br /> 1. Relevant background and reports. <br /> Snowcap's Mine Dewatering System is gravity-driven, and allows groundwater flowing <br /> from higher elevations within the mine to lower elevations within the mine to be discharged <br /> into the Colorado River at outflow 016: located on the north side of U.S.I-70 (the meter being <br /> located on the south side of I-70). A detailed plan and profile plan of the 016 Drain was filed <br /> by Powderhorn Coal with DRMS, entitled Mine Dewatering Plan and Profile, dated May <br /> 2009. (Fontanari Exhibit 25) Underground mine water enters an 8" diameter drainpipe in <br /> the mine at an approximate elevation of 4629 feet. Drain water does not exit the drain until it <br /> reaches an elevation of 4758 feet. In other words, drain water does not flow out of the mine <br /> until the water in the mine is approximately 129 feet deep. The 129 feet of water in the mine <br /> causes water to back up into the mine tunnels for thousands of feet horizontally and causes <br /> hydrostatic pressurization within the mine tunnels which will migrate through cracks and <br /> fissures. The migration of water vertically above mine tunnels may exacerbate tunnel <br /> collapses and subsequent subsidence. <br /> In its prior Decision on Bond Release S1-08 ("SL-08 Decision"}, DRMS recognized that <br /> inflow of ground water inflows to the Roadside Mine average between 100 and 300 GPM <br /> from 1986 through 2000. (SL-08 Decision; Pg. 29-30) The S1-08 Decision acknowledges <br /> that this "steady" inflow rate "is produced from the underground formation (groundwater <br /> seepage) into the mined out workings, which is recharged at the surface some distance u <br /> gradient from the mine". (Id. at Pg. 30; Emphasis Added) This ground water is discharged <br /> from Outfall 16 into the Colorado River, outside of the Rapid Creek basin, which reduces the <br /> quantity of water available to water users within the permit area and adjacent areas, in <br /> violation of Coal Rules 2.05.6(3)(a)(ii) and (iii). The SL-08 Decision further acknowledges <br />