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<br />U <br />eliminate the need for the Piceance Site evaporation pond and the Parachute Site <br />MVR purge pond altogether and to minimize the size of the Parachute Site <br />evaporation pond. <br />Because American Soda's ability to completely eliminate the Piceance Site <br />evaporation pond and the Parachute Site MVR purge pond is not certain, it is <br />assumed that these ponds will be constructed and operated as proposed. American <br />Soda will configure all process ponds to facilitate the installation of netting to <br />exclude waterfowl and other birds. Pond configurations may include multiple cells <br />to reduce span distances and to provide sufficient berm area for anchoring and <br />support structures. At the time that a pond or individual cell is constructed, support <br />structures for netting will be installed as part of the pond construction. Netting with <br />a maximum mesh size of 2 inches will be installed over all active process ponds or <br />cells. Netting installation on a pond or cell will be completed prior to the time that <br />process fluids are stored in the pond or cell. <br />American Soda will monitor process pond chemistries on a quarterly basis. At a <br />minimum, TDS and sodium concentrations and pH will be monitored, and <br />additional parameters could be added if it is determined that other constituents in <br />:he pond inflow streams could represent a hazard to waterfowl. Monitoring results <br />will be provided to the BLM, the CDOW, and the FWS on an annual basis or upon <br />request. If monitoring results indicate that chemical conditions that are hazardous <br />to birds do not develop in the ponds or pond cells, American Soda may request <br />relief from the netting requirements. American Soda could remove existing netting <br />and/or eliminate the installation of netting on subsequent ponds or cells upon <br />approval from BLM and/or FWS, as appropriate. <br />Other ponds, including raw water storage ponds and stormwater retention ponds, <br />would also be constructed at the Piceance Site and the Parachute Site. These ponds <br />would not constitute a threat to birds because they will not contain process water, <br />and no mitigation is necessary for these ponds. <br />There may be reasons to modify this Migratory Bird Mitigation Plan in the future <br />based on the success of the activities implemented, changes in migratory bird <br />resource management priorities and objectives, improved mitigation methods or <br />technology, or other reasons. For example, if monitoring results indicate that <br />anticipated hazardous conditions do not develop in the ponds, the netting <br />requirement could conceivably be changed to a monitoring requirement, as <br />appropriate. It should be understood that American Soda, the BLM, and the CDOW <br />view wildlife mitigation as a dynamic process and assume that future modifications <br />to the Migratory Bird Mitigation Plan are possible throughout the life of the project. <br />Any such modifications would be developed through consultation among the <br />parties. <br />Wildlife M~tiRation Plan 3-2 <br />Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerak Project <br />American Soda, L.L.P. <br />