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<br />5.0 Summary <br />' Earth Sciences evaluated six management alternatives for management of salt in the mine <br />' water discharges at the PCC facility located in Palisade, Colorado. One of the management <br />alternativea was dropped from further consideration prior to final screening due to technical <br />' limitations. The remaining alternatives were evaluated based on effectiveness, implementabil- <br />ity, and coat. The cost evaluations included present worth economic analyses incorporating a <br />' 5-year operating period for both eliminating and minimizing salt in the discharges. This type <br />of evaluation is an unbiased approach which takes into account alternatives which may have <br />low capital costs but require relatively high yearly O&M coats. <br />Capital and yearly O&M costa and the results of the present worth analysis are presented in <br />' Tables 2 and 3 for the two current discharges and all discharges respectively. From Table 1, <br />it can be seen that for water flows and TDS loadings associated with the two current dis- <br />charges, the minimum capital coat for eliminating salt (TDS) from the mine water discharges <br />is $2,300,000 for MA6, "On-Site Management Utilizing UI," and the minimum capital cost for <br />minimizing salt (TDS) in the discharges is $800,000, also for MA6. These two management <br />alternatives also represent the minimum 5-year present worth coats which are $3,600,000 for <br />' salt elimination and $1,300,000 for salt minimization. <br />' From Table 3, it can be seen that Cot water flows and TDS loadings associated with the two <br />current discharges and one proposed discharge (referenced in this report as all discharges), the <br />' minimum capital coat for eliminating salt (TDS) from the mine water discharges is $3,800,000 <br />for MA2, "On-Site Treatment Utilizing RO and Direct Discharge.' However, the annual O&M <br />' coat associated with this management alternative is significantly higher than the O&M costs <br />for the other management alternatives. A comparison of the 5-year present worth costs for salt <br />t elimination indicates that MA6 represents the least costly management alternative when <br />evaluated over a 5-year period. The 5-year present worth coat Cor salt elimination imple- <br />' menting MA6 is $7,000,000. The minimum capital coat for minimizing salt (TDS) in the <br />discharge is $2,300,000 for MA6. This management alternative also represents the minimum <br />' S-year present worth coat which is $3,600,000. <br />' It should be noted that the evaluation of the management alternatives presented in this report <br />did not include performance of treatability studies and other similar evaluations to account for <br />