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~~ M,OUNTAIN COAL <br />~' COMPbNYL.L.C. <br /> West Ells Mine <br />A Subsidiary of Arch Western Resauras, LLC P O Box 591 <br /> 5174 Highway 133 <br /> Somerset, CO 81434 <br />_~ (970)924-5015 <br /> Fax (970) 929-5595 <br />'s'. <br />January 28, 2003 <br />' RECE11/Ep <br />Ms. Leslie Simpson <br />Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment ~QN $ f Z~ <br />Water Quality Control Division, Enforcement and Compliance Section <br />4300 Cherry Cleek Drive South Uirisi°°o1M~°eralsandGe°)°®y <br />Denver, CO 80222-1530 <br />Re: Mountain Coal Company, LLC, West Elk Mine, CDPS Permit No. CO-0038776, Discharge <br />Monitoring Reports for the Fourth Quarter 2002 <br />Dear Ms. Simpson: <br />Asper my telephone conversation today with Ms. Cazla Lenkey of the WQCD Staff, attached are the <br />Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) for the fourth quarter of 2002. Also attached aze the <br />biomonitoring reports for Outfall 017, the mine water dischazge to West Fork Sylvester Gulch. <br />MCC's West Elk Mine experienced mortality to Daphnia magna at the 75% concentration of effluent <br />from the mine dewatering dischazge point 017 in the fourth quarter 2002 WET Testing. The minnow <br />population of Pimephales promelas was not affected, When the laboratory conducting the analyses <br />notified MCC of the Daphnia magna failure, Cazla Lenkey of the WQCD was telephoned immediately <br />and notified by mail of the excursions by MCC. MCC conducted the accelerated tests and a <br />preliminary toxicity identification (PTI) test in attempts to determine the causative factor(s) <br />surrounding the Daphnia magna mortality. MCC also conducted a very lengthy volatile and semi- <br />volatile organics sampling and analysis with no causative results. Although we had expected <br />spontaneous disappearance of this anomaly, the results of the accelerated testing and PTI showed a <br />pattern of toxicity which may be due, in part, to alkalinity. <br />The two species biomonitoring WET Tests now show compliance (January 2003) with permit <br />]imitations for both species in the first quarter 2003 at discharge point 017. However, MCC is <br />continuing alkalinity testing and aside-by-side Toxicity Indicator Evaluation with two different <br />laboratories and has hired an outside consultant to determine what caused the WET Test failure in the <br />Daphnia magna population in the fourth quarter 2002. The results from these studies should be <br />available in late February. <br /> <br />