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Page 7 <br />Purgatoire River Fish Kill Report 03/24/88 <br />was particularly hard to detect and the manufacturer may be the only ones <br />able to locate. Kolin said he was sending me the information on Nalco 8852 <br />by overnight mail to be received on March 11. Copies of the letter were <br />also to be sent to Gary Soldano and Jim Stevens of Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Division. I immediately telephoned AWM Velarde and relayed <br />the information supplied by Kolin. <br />March 11, I met Melby and went to the Purgatoire River to continue the <br />investigation. I advised Melby of the information on Nalco 8852. We <br />purchased gallon plastic jugs for additional water samples. Melby took <br />a sample at the entrance to the Golden Eagle Mine and at the lower limit <br />of the kill zone where we were finding a mixture of healthy and dying <br />Brown Trout. We accompanied Soldano and Cruz to the New Elk Mine where <br />we again requested assistance from Tom Augustine. We went to the Golden <br />Eagle Mine where Soldano repeated samples on the settling pond discharge, <br />filtration/sewage treatment system, etc. As Soldano proceeded with his <br />tests, Melby and I met Lundberg and Southeast Region Senior Aquatic Biologist, <br />Doug Krieger, on Highway 12 near the Ciruela effluent. Krieger was advised <br />of the situation and we returned to a site east of Highway 12/Purgatoire <br />Bridge to examine fish and obtain news release photographs for Lundberg. <br />As we examined the site we were joined by Greg Squire, Mined Land Reclama- <br />tion Division. As we left the river we were met by a television crew <br />from Channel 11 and correspondent George Rae 1. Rael interviewed us and <br />filmed the dead fish for use on the March 11 newscast. <br />Following the interview Melby, Soldano, Cruz and I went to the Duran <br />residence and began working the Purgatoire River below the footbridge. <br />We walked the river east (downstream) in an effort to catch dying Brown <br />Trout I had observed on March 9. Melby and Soldano also wanted to collect <br />water samples at the lower limit of the kill zone. They obtained the <br />samples and Melby and I were able to catch approximately 10 Browns that <br />were dying based on their sluggish or conversely rapid, erratic movements. <br />Soldano took some of these fish for testing as well. Me1by and I made <br />arrangements to electrofish sections of tie Purgatoire River above and <br />below the kill zone to determine an average fish population per mile and <br />also within the kill zone to determine trout survival. <br />On March 15, I met Melby and Area 13 Aquatic Biologist, Rick Anderson. <br />Because of prior commitment by DWM Aragon and a family emergency to Melby's <br />temporary assistant, we enlisted the assistance of Wyoming Fuel Company <br />land foreman, Ernie Trujillo, and his father. We traveled to the Pagnotta <br />residence and completed our electrofish sample of the kill zone. We did <br />not catch or observe live Brown Trout in this section. The second sample <br />was above the effluent approximately 1/4 mile. At this site we were also <br />assisted by Matt Trujillo, Ken Givens and DWM Aragon. In the second section <br />we were able to catch a large number of live Brown Trout as well as a variety <br />of sizes of Long Nosed Dace and Western White Suckers. The third electrofish <br />sample was taken at Weston and again the efforts produced excellent Brown <br />