HYDRO28994

• Permit No: M1999051
• IBM Index Class Name: Hydrology
• Doc Date: 10/19/1999
• Doc Name: Technical Memorandum
• From: AmerAlia Inc.
• To: DMG
• Permit Index Doc Type: Other Ground Water
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

TRC Hydro-Geo
' Consultants
165 S. Union Blvd., Suite 400
Lakewood Colorado 80228
Phone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
LIST OF TABLES:
Table No. Description
1 Ground Water Quality Summary
2 Spring Water Quality Summary
3 Characteristics of Creeks in Yellow
Creek Basin
4 Surface Water Quality Summary
1 Regional Hydrology Map
2 General Hydrostratigraphic Column
of Uinta Formation and Upper Green
River Formation
3 Site Hydrology Map
APPENDICES:
Appendix A - Ground Water Quality Data and Gtaphs
Appendix B - Piper Diagrams
Appendix C - Surface Water Quality Graphs
Appendix D - Water Level Data and Graphs
1.0 INTRODUCTION
II
AmerAlia, Inc. (AmerAlia) proposes to develop a pilot scale nahcolite mine (Project), on the Rock
School Sodium Lease site in the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado. Colorado State permitting of
the Project requires a minimum of 5 successive calendar quarters of monitoring to establish background
surface and ground water quality and quantity data or a variance depending on site specific conditions or
special requirements (Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, 1999). In support of this requirement,
AmerAlia requested that TRC Hydro-Geo Consultants (TRC) analyze existing surface and ground water
quality and quantity data from nearby projects and existing wells on the Project site. It may be possible
to use this existing data in addition to information from the Project monitoring program to satisfy the
permitting requirements. The following memorandum summarizes the analysis of the existing surface
and ground water data.
The Project site is located near two other sodium leases, and one oil shale lease tract. Analysis of data
collected for these nearby sites provides important information about the baseline surface and ground
water conditions in and around the Project area. The White River Nahcolite Mine (WRN) has collected
extensive water quality data for ground water (BLM 1986b and 1987), and is located directly east and
adjacent to the Rock School Sodium Lease (Figure 1). The WRN data can be compared with the data
available from on-site wells, and well data from the C-a Oil Shale Lease Tract (C-a Tract)(BLM 1985
LIST OF FIGiJRES:
Figure No. Description
2ndFinalTecMical Memo.doc 10/19/99 TRC HYDRO-GEO CONSULTANTS