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0 0 COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Water Quality Control Division Rationale - Page 2 Permit No. CO-0027154 FACILITY DESCRIPTION: Colorado Yampa Coal Company ("CYCC"), a subsidiary of Cyprus Coal Company, operates a large coal mining complez approximately five miles northwest of Oak Creek, CO. Both surface and underground mining take place at the site. A total of seventeen point source discharges exist at the site. One discharge consists of underground mine drainage, seven consist of surface runoff from active areas, eight consist of surface runoff from poet-mining areas (reclaimed surfaces), and one discharge contains spoils-contaminated wastewater and surface runoff from an active area. Of the seventeen discharges, only two are continuous: the mine drainage discharge sad the spoils discharge. The underground mine drainage began when operations expanded in March, 1984. Thin outfall is discussed in detail later in this section. Pond E at the Fish Creek tipple was formerly outfall 014 under this permit. It was deleted from this permit and transferred to the Twenty Mile Coal permit No. CO-0036684 on March 25, 1985. This area is under the control of Twenty Mile Coal, which is also a subsidiary of Getty Coal Co. outfalls 001-004. 006. 008-013. 015-018 These outfalls are discharge points from surface runoff ponds. Appendix A describes each outfall and shows the mine served, receiving water and whether the pond serves an active mining area or a post-mining area. outfalls 009, 010, 011, 012, 013, 015, 016 and 017 were inactivated in 1983 under the previous permit, which in accordance with superseded federal guidelines allowed inactivation when active mining ceased. Recently promulgated federal effluent guidelines provide for post-mining effluent limitations to be effective until release of bond by the appropriate SMCRA authority. Thus, these eight outfalls will be reinstated. (outfall 010 was reactivated in April, 1985) outfalls 001, 002, 003, 004, 006, 008 and 018 serve active surface areas. Discharges will consist of surface runoff only. All surface runoff ponds are designed and constructed to contain the volume of wastewater generated by a 10-year, 24-hour precipitation event (at a minimum). The pond terminating in outfall 018 has not yet been built. CYCC is still completing lease arrangements on this area. outfall 005 Prior to March, 1984, all discharges from outfall 005 were the result of surface runoff (caused by precipitation). In March, a new underground mine. began discharging mine drainage. Water from the mine is first pumped to a sump, then to Pond D, from which discharge occurs to Foidel Creek.