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Wyoming Fuel Compon{~ 12055 W. Second Place • P.O.Box15596 • Lakewood, Colorado 80215 • Telephone (303989-5037 March 10, 1988 Bob Holder Colorado Division of Wildlife 207 Estralla Street Trinidad, CO 81082 Gary Soldano Colorado Department of Health 720 N. Main Street, Suite 300 Pueblo, CO 81003-3027 Jim Stevens Reclamation Specialist Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division 1313 Sherman Denver, CO 80203-2283 Gentlemen: We understand that on or about Saturday, March 5, 1988, Bob Holder of the Colorado Division of Wildlife received an anonymous telephone call regarding dead and dying brown trout in the Purgatoire River below the discharge outlets from our Golden Eagle Mine. Wyoming Fuel is concerned chat the cause of death be rapidly determined, and that appropriate steps be taken to preclude reoccurrence of the problem. The purpose of this letter is to share with you what information we have at this time about the possible cause of this problem and outline what we are doing with respect to the problem. Our discharge permits place certain limitations upon the level of suspended solids which we can discharge into the Purgatoire River. In order to keep the level of suspended solids within permissible limits, we Initiated, several months ago, the use of coagulants or flocculants in our settling ponds in order to settle out the solids. More recently, we have been utilizing a product called Nalco 8852 Coagulant. We have enclosed, for your information, a copy of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) regarding the coagulant. The MSDS notes that the product is approved for use as a coagulation aid in the treatment of potable water, and that it does not constitute a hazardous substance under the variety of regulations listed on pages 5 and 6 of the lISDS. However, page 4 of the MSDS notes that the product is toxic to fish, such as trout, and that it should not be directly discharged into lakes, ponds, streams, waterways or public water supplies. It is our understanding that the product may affect [he gill system of fish.