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iiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiii 999 STATE OF COLORADO OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER RErEIVED Division of Water Resources ~~oc~co ~ Department of Natural Resources „`i~ 1313 Sherman Street. Roam 818 JAN 2 4 2001 ~: Denver, Colorado 80203 • /B]6' Phone: (303)866-7581 Division of Minerals and Geology FAX: (303)866-)589 Bill Owens Governor http //waterslate.co.us/default.htm January 24, 2001 Bruce A. Lytle John C. Haiepaska and Associates, Inc. 26 West Dry Creek Circle, Suite 640 Littleton, CO 80120 RE: Battle Mountain Resources Inc. Substitute Water Supply Plan (M-88-112) Secs 16,17,20,21, T32S, R71W, 6'" P. M. Water Division 3, Water District 24 Dear Mr. Lytle: Greg E Watcher Executive D~reaor Hal D. S~mpsun. P.E. 9a~e Engineer We have received your letter of August 30, 2000, requesting renewal of the above referenced substitute water supply plan on behalf of Battle Mountain Resources Inc. (BMRI) addressing BMRI's current ground water pumping at its San Luis Gofd Project site. BMRI is using wells at the mine's West Pit site to prevent ground water from the pit site from entering Rito Seco. The pumped water is either treated and released to Rito Seco, or evaporated, resulting in depletions to the creek. A number of existing wells are used to intercept and lower the water table at the pit. The estimated steady-state inflow and alluvial pumping is approximately 180 gpm (290 acre- feet/year) to eliminate outflow from the pit. Approximately 5 % of the water that passes through the treatment process will be consumed (14.5 acre-feet from 180 gpm of treatment). You estimate that as much as 645 acre-feet at a rate of 400 gpm may be pumped from the West Pit (which includes re-pumping of the water from the alluvial wells and the water to be used for recycle). The 180 gpm will continue to be treated and released to Rito Seco, and 220 gpm will be recycled into the West Pit to facilitate flushing. Also under this SSP the tailings runoff depletions (paragraph 30 of the decree in case 89CW32) will continue to be augmented. The source of replacement water will be the same as that decreed in case no. 89CW32, which contains a plan for augmentation covering various mine operations. That decree identified dry-up of historically irrigated land on the Rocky Mountain Farm as producing consumptive use credits, which are piped to the mine site for delivery to Rito Seco. BMRI desires to use well permit no. 8324-R as the augmentation supply well. Pursuant to paragraph 18 of the decree, this well is limited to pumping 369 acre-feet annually to the mine site, absent a need for more than 600 acre-feet annually at the mine, which is apparently not the case at this time. This plan would allow that well to divert more than provided for in the decree, based on a continuation of other provisions of the decree including dry-up requirements, paragraph 17 limitations on running average consumption, and reporting of same.