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April 30,2010 <br /> Perm ittee Address <br /> ICE: M i ning Operations with Exposed Ground water <br /> To Whoryi It May Concern: <br /> The Division of Recla mation NI irvi ng a nd Safety 'IS M5pa n5JbIe for enstiring that Sand a nd Graveil rn ininz <br /> operators corn ply,wit h the requirements of t he Colorado Land ReclBrnation Act for the �Xtr�niclrl of <br /> Constructioni M terials (Act)a nd the M inera I Rvfe�and Regu 12160M of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation <br /> Board fear the Extraction of Construction Materia,ls(Rules)- Among these reqUM217171112nts are prDvi5iDn5 fur the <br /> protection of wate i-resource,5. The Act requires that recla mation plan5 must ensu re m in irnization of <br /> d istu rba rices to the preva iling hydrologic baba nce,,I ncludi np, disturbances to t he q,ua ritilty,of water In the area <br /> affected by mininE anal 1 n the su rrou riding areas. §34-32-5­116�4)�h). Rule 3,.1.6(1)(Ei) requires [orn pliance <br /> with Colorado wets r laws and rE!gu lations govErnlng injury to existing watet rights b-ath during and after <br /> miniTiE. Per must specify how the permittee will comply with applicable Colorado wa,ter laws and <br /> regulations governino injury tOexisting water right rights, R u I e 6 33.3(j); Rule.6.4.5(2)(c]. after-a n ex t e n s I ve <br /> review,the Division determined that several operators may not have appropriate permit conditions to <br /> address certain reclarriaticon liabilities arising from impacts to water resourcu5. <br /> In September 2009 the Division of Water ResourcE!s(DWR) updated its Guidetirie5 for Sand and Gravel Pits_ <br /> Theseguidelines provide guidance on achleving compliance with,5t-ate law regarding replacement of <br /> depletions from sand and gravel mining, thus th-�guideliw-,s provide a ban-chi-nark for the proteclio n of <br /> hydrologic balance required under the Act and Rules. As noted in the Guidelines, sand and Zravel <br /> operations which expose groundwater without com plying with state low create a reclamation liability by <br /> impacting available groundwater. <br /> State law requ ire5 that-any person exposing ground water must obtain a well permit from the SEC pUrsuant <br /> to§ 37-90-137('11). Because exposed groundwater,results-in out-of-priority water depletions,operaticlin.1; <br /> wh k-,h expose,ground water must also eventua lly obtain a water-court a pproved augmentat ion plan. <br /> Currently,several operators do not have either an augmentation plan or bonding to provide an alto mative, <br /> method to m itigate, i,n)u riousurea m depletions that resu It From min ing-relate,d expos ure of ZrDu nd <br /> wet-er. The, Division has a statutory duty,to ensure that lands affected by mining are. reclaimed in a manner <br /> that ccimpllie5 with,state law and to ensure that operators have sufficient bonding to achi,eve reclamation® In <br /> order to a5sist operators in achieving compliance wi,th thease requirement5,,Ache Division proposes that,bV <br /> April 30, 2011, operators should contact the Division and agree upon a pla n for achieving complia nce. <br />