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Mountain Coal and Bear Coal Water Quality Assessment CO-0038776 and CO-0044377 <br />For the remaining dischazges to Sylvester Gulch, West Sylvester Gulch, the Dry Fork of Minnesota <br />Creek and Lone Pine Gulch, the full assimilative capacities of these receiving streams aze equal to <br />the stream standazds. <br />Bear Coal Company, Inc.: The Beaz Coal Company, Inc. Beaz #3 Mine is a reclaimed coal mine <br />with mine water dischazge located in the SE'/., Section 8, T13S, R90W; 38° 55' 40" north latitude, <br />107° 27' 44" west longitude; on Highway 133, southwest of Somerset, CO. The current design <br />capacity of the Bear Coal mine water dischazge to the North Fork of the Gunnison River is 0.04 <br />MGD (0.06 cfs). Wastewater treatment is accomplished using anon-aerated lagoon. <br />The total design capacity for dischazges of mine water to the North Fork of the Gunnison River by <br />both the Beaz Coal and Mountain Coal WWTFs is 0.182 MGD (0.28 cfs). The technical analyses <br />that follow for discharges to the North Fork of the Gunnison River include assessments of the <br />assimilative capacity based on the total mine water design capacity for shared metal pollutants. <br />Nearby Sources <br />An assessment of nearby facilities based on EPA's Permit Compliance System (PCS) database found <br />30 dischargers in the Gunnison County azea, including the subject facility. Twenty-five facilities <br />were dischazging to another watershed. Other facilities conducted construction-related operations <br />(e.g., sand and gravel) and thus had no pollutants of concern in common with Mountain Coal and <br />`Bear Coa1.WWTFs. Because Delta County is approximately 2 miles downstream, Delta County <br />'dischargers were also assessed..PCS found 31 dischazgers in the Delta County azea. Twenty - , <br />.facilities were discharging to another watershed. Other facilities conducted construction-related ~, <br />operations (e.g., sand and gravel) and thus had no pollutants of concern in common with Mountain <br />Coal and Bear Coal WWTFs. The neazest dischargers were: <br />• Oxbow Mining, Ina WWTF (CO-0000132), which discharges to the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison River and tributaries approximately 1% miles downstream. However, no mine <br />water is dischazged to the North Fork of the Gunnison River, and none of the tributaries that <br />receive mine water dischazges from Oxbow's W WTFs aze the same tributaries t'rat receive <br />dischazges from the Mountain Coal WWTFs. Thus, it is unlikely that dischazges from this <br />facility could impact the assimilative capacities for the Mountain Coal and Bear Coal <br />W WTFs. <br />• Two other coal mining facilities, the Minrec-Blue Ribbon Mine (COG-850009) and the <br />Bowie Resources, Ltd. Bowie No. 1 East and No. l West Mines (formerly CO-0033685, now <br />COG-850043) discharge surface runoff water to tributaries to the North Fork of the Gunnison <br />River a few miles downstream in Delta County. However, as previously stated, surface <br />runoff dischazges aze not considered to impact the assimilative capacities because these <br />discharges do not occur during periods of critical low flow. Thus, these facilities are not <br />considered in this assessment. Additionally, the Bowie Resources, Ltd. Bowie No. 2 Mine <br />(CO-0044776) dischazges mine water and surface runoff water to tributaries to the North <br />Fork of the Gunnison River more than five miles downstream. However, the assimilative <br />capacity calculations were not affected by downstream contributions from the Bowie <br />Resources, Ltd. Bowie No. 2 Mine W WTF due to the significant dilution, distance traveled <br />and the changes in receiving stream characteristics. <br />Appendix A Page 13 of 20 Last Revised 3/9/2004 <br />