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remain permanently and are used by Halliburton for commercial and industrial activities. The <br /> Unit Train Load Out has been approved for Phase III bond release and has been removed from <br /> the permit area. <br /> III. Hydrologic Balance - Rule 4.05 <br /> A. Water Quality Standards and Effluent Limitations <br /> With the exception of approved small area exemptions, all surface discharges from the <br /> Roadside Portal Mines were routed through sediment ponds or treatment facilities designed <br /> to ensure that all discharges meet applicable effluent limits under the operator's Colorado <br /> Discharge Permit System (CDPS) permit, for the Roadside Portal Mines. Water discharged <br /> from underground workings is clarified by sufficient settling time in underground sumps or <br /> abandoned mine workings prior to discharge into the Colorado River. A storm water permit <br /> and spill prevention containment and control plan associated with the CDPS permit also <br /> dictate preventative and mitigation measures for ensuring that all water leaving the mine site <br /> meets applicable effluent limits. <br /> Receiving stream standards for the Lower Colorado River have been set by the Colorado <br /> Department of Health and Environment in their publication "Classification and Numeric <br /> Standards for Lower Colorado River Basin." The Colorado River at this point is within <br /> segment 2 of the Lower Colorado River sub-basin and basin and Coal Creek is within segment <br /> 4 of the Lower Colorado River sub-basin and basin. CDPS permit limitations on discharge, <br /> the permit's discharge standards, and the Division's standards for determining material damage <br /> to the hydrologic balance ("Division Procedures for the Assessment of Material Damage with <br /> Respect to Alluvial Valley Floors, the Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment and <br /> Subsidence at Coal Mines")are based, in part,on these standards. The Roadside Portal Mines' <br /> standards for discharge are listed in Table 2.05.6 A of the permit application. The mines' <br /> baseline water quality data is found in Section 2.04.7 of the permit application. <br /> The CDPS permit had in the past included a specified salinity standard of not more than one <br /> ton per day or 350 tons per year of total dissolved solids, whichever is less. The Roadside <br /> Mines salinity discharge exceeds this level, primarily due to mine water discharges. As a <br /> result, the operator was required by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment <br /> (DOH)to prepare a report outlining possible approaches to reducing the mines' contributions <br /> of salt to the Colorado River, and associated costs. This report, "Evaluation of Alternatives <br /> for Management of Salt in Mine Water Discharges: Roadside and Cameo Mines;Powderhorn <br /> Coal Company; Palisade, Colorado." was completed in February, 1993. Based on the report, <br /> DOH made a determination that salt elimination or reduction would not be economically <br /> feasible, and granted an exemption from salinity standards (3/17/93 letter, Appendix 17-2). <br /> DOH has not revised that determination, and it remains valid. <br /> The Division had previously granted a number of small area exemptions from the use of <br /> sediment ponds due to the limited size of the areas in question and due to the fact that ponds <br /> and treatment facilities are not necessary for the drainage from these sites to meet the effluent <br /> 22 <br />