PERMFILE56328

• Permit No: M1999002
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 1/27/1999
• Doc Name: CLARIFICATION OF PICEANCE SITE PROCESSING MLRB REGULAR OPERATION 112 RECLAMATION PERMIT YANKEE GULCH
• From: AMERICAN SODA LLP
• To: DMG
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

• ! III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
AMERICAN
SODA, L.L.P. RECEIVEa ~
,••~ "^ 1999
710 Cooper Ave. P0. Box 2070
Glenwood Springs. CO 61602
Mr. Carl Mount
Senior Environmental Protection Specialist
Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Division of Minerals and Geology
215 Centennial Building
1313 Sherman Street
Telephone [phone]
Division of Minerals & Geology Facsimile (9701 926-9863
January 26, 1999
JON 124 JB 6, lb, 1
Letter No. 124-501
Denver, Colorado 80203 /
Subject: Clarification of Piceance Site Processing
CMLRB Regular Operation (112) Reclamation Permit
Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerals Project
Dear Carl,
By letter dated January 20, 1999, American Soda L.L.P. (American Soda) filed an
application for a Regular Operation (112) Reclamation Permit (112 Reclamation
Permit) for its Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerals Project (Yankee Gulch Project)
with the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology. The application included
information on the Piceance Site, the project pipeline, and the Parachute Site.
The purpose of this letter is to confirm the processing steps that will be
undertaken at the Piceance Site.
The Yankee Gulch Project will recover nahcolite by solution mining. The
nahcolite is recovered by injecting heated, pressurized water into the mineral-
bearing formation. The water dissolves the nahcolite, and a saturated sodium
bicarbonate solution is produced. The sodium bicarbonate solution is collected
and routed to the initial processing facility located at the Piceance Site. At the
initial processing facility, the sodium bicarbonate solution undergoes a series of
processing steps designed to chemically convert it to sodium carbonate. The
sodium carbonate solution is then transported by pipeline to the Parachute Site
for final processing.
Because the nahcolite is both mined and converted to a different chemical form
at the Piceance Site, the pipeline and Parachute Site are not subject to regulation
under the 112 Reclamation Permit. Consequently, in the exhibits accompanying
the application, the descriptions and information presented for lands other than
the Piceance Site are for informational purposes only. The legal description of
affected lands in Exhibit A should include only the Piceance Site as follows.
Natura/Sodium Products For a C/eaner Environment