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responding to the Office of the Colorado State Engineer <br />regarding this problem. Mr. Fontanari is represented in that <br />matter by attorney John Buchanan ( John D. Buchanan, <br />Buchanan, Sperling & Holleman, P.C., Boulder, CO <br />jbuchanan@tbvs.net). It is recommended that OSM and <br />DRMS establish contact with the Office of the Colorado <br />State Engineer to ensure compliance as to Colorado water <br />rights matters by Snowcap in accord with all reclamation <br />standards, its permit conditions and the governing Federal <br />and State coal legislation. <br />My client is also concerned that water is being exfiltrated <br />through mine workings from Rapid and Cottonwood Creeks, <br />through the aging mine drainage system, and potentially <br />bypassing the monitoring well identified on map Exhibit A. <br />Monitoring of the well is insufficient to account for the rate <br />of flow of intercepted waters; there do seem to exist some <br />physical indications that mine water is infiltrating river <br />gravels, then discharging through alluvial gravels, rather <br />than discharging at the identified discharge point on the <br />Colorado River adjacent to Interstate 70. The existing <br />monitoring well and gage should be confirmed as being <br />both functional and accurate in accounting for waters being <br />exfiltrated from the mine drainage system. There are direct <br />indications that the gage in the monitoring well was not <br />installed pursuant to the manufacturer's specifications <br />(described in detail in the Beckwith letter and exhibits). As a <br />result, flows purportedly measured at the gage do not <br />match actual discharges from the conduit releasing to the <br />river. <br />A further matter of concern is the potential for rockfalls <br />from the cliffsides and hillsides in or near the permit area. <br />This area is directly adjacent to Interstate 70; this area has <br />Page 05 <br />