Laserfiche WebLink
Next we looked at Pond B, which was also looked at in April of this year as noted <br />above and photographs of what is noted below can be seen in that travel report. <br />This pond was mostly full with the water level approximately 2-4 feet from the <br />emergency overFlow spillway. Water was entering the pond from the drainage on <br />the west side of the mining operations and was translucent dark brown and has <br />some foam being generated. This drainage gets a discharge from a domestic <br />waste water treatment facility (wwtf) that is located further uphill (discharge point <br />no. 004) as well as drainage from the coal stockpile and surface runoff. As such <br />Pond B gets water from the wwtf, from surface runoff and mine water. This pond <br />discharges into the DTD (discharge point no. 001) by a pipe with a control valve <br />and has an emergency spillway that would also discharge into the DTD, though <br />any real flows would just go into the FMC. The lower end of the DTD, below the <br />discharge point for Pond B is mostly overgrown with willows and vegetation <br />(Photo #12) and would have very limited capacity. On the site visit in April, the <br />mine representative had indicated that they would clean this ditch to allow <br />adequate capacity and to avoid having debris hanging up on and plugging the <br />DTD in this area. This was not done. A hole in the bottom of the DTD that was <br />noted in April was repaired but apparently the repair was initiated by Merritt <br />Denison and not the mine. A steel pipe further downstream in the DTD carries <br />flows over the FMC. <br />At the end of the site visit (around Noon) when the Bowie Resources <br />representatives had left, a couple of individuals drove up to us with concerns they <br />had of water they take from the DTD. These individuals work with the Terror <br />Creek Co. in the area below the FMC and Pond B, one was the superintendent <br />(we didn't get his name) and the other was James Kiger, the Environmental <br />Coordinator for Oxbow Mining, LLC. It is unknown how Oxbow Mining is <br />connected to the Terror Creek Co. but they indicated that water they had recently <br />taken from the DTD to fill a tank created a 1-2' layer of foam on top of the water <br />in the tank. There wasn't much we had discussed, though they indicated that <br />they will probably take water samples of water they take from the DTD (when <br />was unclear) because they had- some concerns that this water may violate some <br />permits that they have for their operations. <br />Conclusions: We again informed the Bowie Resources representatives, <br />William (Bill) Bear, Jr., Mine Manager, Bowie Resources, Ltd (Bowie Resources), <br />and Jim Stover, PE, of J.E. Stover & Associates, that we do not allow storm <br />water discharges, especially from areas like mines, into our canals, namely the <br />FMC. These discharges of pollutants into the FMC may result in operational and <br />maintenance problems as well as water quality issues. This was also discussed <br />with Bill Bear in April but since then, Pond F was designed and constructed this <br />summer and obviously will discharge into the FMC if the emergency spillway <br />discharges. <br />4 <br />