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Responses to Staff Questions Page 2 6. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WATER AFTER IT IS PIPED TO THE SETTLING PONDS? /~ 9 Refer to page 26 (narrative); the footnote is new an obsolete statement due to the water level of the lower stage settling pond having reached a height that now creates a dis- charge into the Animas River. 7. IS THERE CURRENTLY NO REQUIREMENT FOR A NPDES PERMI'T' ON ~ THE SETTLING PONDS GIVEN THE CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE ANIMAS RIVER? Refer to page 47 for copy of NPDES Permit; and to en- closed January 12, 1978 letter from Mr. Matter of the Department of Health which indicates that there has been some confusion in ,p~ the past as to what discharge points are to be monitorecl under the Permit. This confusion has now been removed, and Standard Metals will soon submit a request to have the discharge from Settling Pond No. 3 classified as outfall 004 under the Permit. 8. WHAT AMOUNTS OF EARTH MOVING WILL BE REQUIRED AS REFERENCED IN PARAGRAPH 3 OF PAGE 10 OF THE MINING PLAN? Refer to page 9, paragraph 3; the statement refEars to tailings as the earth to be transported; the earth remo~~ed during construction of the storm runoff ditches is placed alongside the ditch for development of a maintenance road, later to be within the Reclamation Plan. 9. WHAT EQUIPMENT WILL $E UTILIZED IN HANDLING THE ORE ONCE IT HAS BEEN REMOVED TO THE SURFACE? All ore is dumped and temporarily stacked at thy: portal site to be loaded on trucks and transported approximate:Ly 8 miles to the milling operation northeast of Silverton. 10. WHAT AMOUNTS OF WASTE ROCK ARE GENERATED BY THE MIIQING OPERATION? ARE SURFACE DISPOSAL SITES NEEDED TO HANDLE ANY WASTE? All waste rock extracted in the mining operation enters the milling circuit, and no surface disposal sites are necessary. 11. AREAS ON THE INDEX MAPS SHOULD BE DESIGNATED RS TO AFFECTED OR PERMIT AREA. Refer to revised index maps. 12. ACREAGES REFERENCED ON PAGE 14 EXHIBIT E RECLAMATION PLAN DOES NOT TOTAL 132 ACREAS AS STATED. INACTIVE TAILINGS COMPRISING 55.5 ACRES WHEN COMPARED TO THE LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF INACTIVE TAILINGS AREAS 1, 2,--30.10 ACRES, 21.60 ACRES RESPECTIVELY IS INCORRECT. PLEASE CLARIFY. The 55.5 acreas stated on page 14 (narrative) includes the acreage in Pond 3 as an inactive area; the total area of affected land is 140 acres. 13. IN WHAT MANNER WILL RECLAMATION OF POND #4 BEGZN AND PROCEED WITH GROWTH OF THE POND? All surfaces of Pond 4 will continue to be active until the final stages of its development; hence, the Reclamation Timetable (Exhibit L, page 45) lists Pond 4 as an active area and includes its surface acreage as reclaimed during tt.e estimated final 10 years of the operation.