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1 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />u <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />January 12, 1995 <br />Bulldog Mine <br />Page 2 <br />The northwest-southeast trending faults in the area provide a <br />preferential path for groundwater flow. Thus, groundwater discharge <br />in the area of the Bulldog Mine should generally be along the Windy <br />Gulch trend into Willow Creek above Creede. Windy Gulch is an <br />ephemeral drainage indicating that there is not sufficient <br />groundwater discharge into the gulch to maintain a stream baseflow. <br />Water Right Issues <br />The WQD, in their letter of November 21, 1994, requested <br />additional information on the historic water right relationship <br />between the Bulldog Mine in Windy Gulch and the Nelson Tunnel in <br />the West Willow Creek drainage. <br />Drilling for the Nelson Tunnel, which drains workings located <br />on the west side of West Willow Creek, began in 1892. The Tunnel <br />reportedly encountered water during development and encountered a <br />substantial amount of water at a distance of approximately 600 feet <br />into the mountain. The Tunnel today continues to drain the numerous <br />mine workings on this side of Willow Creek at an elevation of <br />approximately 9172 feet (see map, Attachment C). <br />Development of Homestake's Bulldog Mine began in 1967. Water <br />was first encountered below the 9200 foot elevation. The volume of <br />water requiring pumping significantly increased below the 9000 foot <br />level when pumping increased from an average of 600 GPM to peak <br />pumping rates of over 2000 GPM. <br />' In May 1973, Ben and Ty Poxson on behalf of the Emperious <br />Mining Company and the Kanawha Mines, entered into an agreement <br />(Attachment D) with Homestake under which Homestake agreed that all <br />' water it encountered at or below the 9,000 foot level at the <br />Bulldog mine, which was pumped to the surface, would be discharged <br />and allowed to flow down Windy Gulch to Willow Creek, and the <br />t Poxsons agreed that they would make no claim upon Homestake on <br />their independant non-tributary source water right at the Emperius <br />Mine (Nelson Tunnel). <br />' This Agreement was predicated upon the 9,000 foot level <br />because Homestake was incurring substantial quantities of water in <br />its operations above that level, prior to any allegations against <br />Homestake. Thus, any potential effect of operatons at the Bulldog <br />Mine on the Nelson Tunnel appears to have been limited to a change <br />in hydraulic gradient which only developed during the deep and <br />' aggressive mine dewatering program, as was presented in our March <br />2, 1994 NPDES permit inactivation request. <br />1 <br />1 <br />