2001-12-11_PERMIT FILE - C1981014A (3)

Home Browse Search

COLORADO DEPARTMEM OF PUBLIC HEALTH & ENVlRONMEM -Water Quality Control Division Rationale -Page 17 Permit No. COR-0400'00 ., VII. CHANGES AFTER PUBLIC NOTICE (cont.) • stormwater discharges associated with mining activity still occur, the owner or operator is still responsible for the continued (afbeit reduced) delivery of pollutants to the stream. 2. The differentiation between stormwater and process water at a mine or mill site. One commentor requested that the Rationale be expanded to make clear which sources of water at a mine sire are stormwarer (covered by this permit) and which sources are "process water" (not covered by this permit). Response: "Process water" is a term used by the Division to refer to waters which when discharged, are required to have conventional permits with numeric effluent limits. These include wastewaters that were generated or used in an industrial process, or domestic wastewater. They also include mine drainage and many other sources of water from speditc industrial categories that are defined and set forth in federal regulation (40 CFR subchapter N). Several sources of precipitanon-iodated runoff from active mine sites are included in the 40 CFR, subchapter N, part 440, Effluent Limitation Guidelines. The confusion between stormwater and process water ar mine sites arises because the regulatory definitions overlap somewhat. Currently, this overlap is addressed in a Division Policy document "Definition of Process Water and Stormwater at Non-Coal Mining Sites (policy number WQP-I7). " Since this overlap in definitions is also a subject of current national litigation, the Division believes that the policy document is the appropriate place for the leng[hy discussion. Ibis policy is available from [he Division. 3. Exemptions from permittin¢ or termination criteria: Several comnttntors requested that exemptions of one kind or another be included in the genera! permit. Two commentors questioned the assertion that stormwater disrharges from inactive mines contribute to water I • quality problems, specifically in San Juan County. A few commentors asked for an exclusion from permit requirements if it can be demonstrated that the exposed material would not be expected to degrade water quality. One commentor requested exemption from permit requirements if the mine has been inactive since 1973 and the sire is less than 2 acres. Response.• Essentially, the Division is unable to grant exemptions to permitting requirements in a permit documem. The federal and state rules (40 CFR 122.26 and 5 CCR 1002-2, § 6.4.2, respectively) set our which circumstances and which activities require permit coverage. Permits are lower in the regulatory hierarchy than rules, and cannot grant an exemprion which is in conflict with roles. Exemptions would require a rules change at both the federal and state levels, as the state rule primarily repeats the federal rule. Change in the state rule alone is limited to being no less stringent than federal rules. RePardin¢ the stormwatcr contributions to water oualiN problems in San Juan County: Contrary to the assertion that there is no evidence that stormwater discharges from mine workings contribute to the water quality problems in San loan County, information supports the conclusion that these sources are significant. Analysis of water quality data in the Upper Animas River basin by the Division had shown that precipitation- induced runoff from inactive mine/mill sites is a significant parr of the Zinc loading in the Animas River. Tht contribution from these San Juan County sites appears to be most acute during the early spring snow-melt Jlush. The data were generated by monitoring water quality above and below individual sites, as well as extensive data collected by the Colorado River Watch Program on Cement Creek, Mineral Creek and the Upper Animas River. /n addition, an unpublished PhD dissertation concluded that the majority of zinc loading in the Cement Creek watershed is contributed by old mine waste dumps (Caruso, 1995). Cement Creek has no aquatic life due in parr to the toxic levels of Zinc. Rerardin¢ an exemption for uncontaminated storrttwater• Zhe regulations state that permits are required for: "...mining operations....ehat discharge stormwater contaminated by contact with or that has come imo • contact with. ~ overburden, raw material, intermediate products, finished products, byproducts or waste products located on the site... (5 CCR /002-2 § 6.4.2(5)(c)(iii)) (emphasis added). However, after further