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~-, ,^= COLORADO DISCHARGE PERMIT SYSTEM iCDPS)
<br />SUMMARY OF RATIONALE
<br />BATTLE MOUNTAIN RESOURCES INC. /BATTLE MOUNTAIN GOLD COMPANY
<br />SAN LUIS PROJECT
<br />FACILITY NUMBER: CO-0045675, COSTILLA COUNTY
<br />CHANGES TO PERMIT AND RATIONALE FOLLOWING PUBLIC NOTICE
<br />Public Notice Period, Comment Letters and Public Meeting: The Battle Mountain Resources, Inc. IBMRII draft
<br />discharge permit and rationale went to public notice an March 31, 2000. The following comment letters were
<br />received during the public notice period. Based upon these comments, as welt as other information that was
<br />evaluated, the Division made some changes to the BMRI rationale and permit, which are in part discussed in the
<br />paragraphs below.
<br />- Battle Mountain Resources fnc., dated May 1, 2000
<br />- Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII, dated May 1, 2000
<br />- Costilla County Conservancy District ICCCDI and People's Alternative Energy Services (PAESI -from Lori
<br />Potter, Kelly, Haglund, Garnsey+Kahn, LLC, Attorneys at Law., dated May 8, 2000
<br />- Rocky Mountain Consultants, Inc. IRMCI, Hydrokinetics, Inc. (HKII, and Hydrodynamics, Inc. IHDII, from Bruce
<br />Marshall, submitted to Lori Potter and attached to that comment letter, dated May 7, 2000
<br />- Shalom Ranch, two letters from Stephen Harris and Connie King, Merrill, Anderson, King & Harris, LLC,
<br />AttorneYS at Law, dated April 18, 2000 and April 27, 2000
<br />- Costilla County Committee for Environmental Soundness, from Rachel Conn, CES Project Manager, dated April
<br />27, 2000
<br />- Colorado Acequia Association, from Ernest Vigil, President, and Megan Corrigan, Culebra Basin Cumulative
<br />Watershed Effects Assessment Project Coordinator, dated April 27, 2000
<br />- The Summitville TAG, from Wendy Mellott, Administrator/Coordinator, dated April 28, 2000
<br />- Mineral Policy Center, from Dan Randolph, Southwest Circuit Rider, dated May 5, 2000
<br />- Costilla County Planning & Zoning, from Santos Trey Martinez, Costilla County Land Use Administrator, dated
<br />April 28, 2000
<br />In addition to the above comment letters most of which also requested a public meeting, there were
<br />approximately 30 to 35 letters from individuals requesting a public meeting on this discharge permit. The public
<br />meeting was held on June 27, 2000 in San Luis, Colorado.
<br />Responses to Public Meeting and Comment Letters:
<br />General Comments: Commenters at the public meeting had multiple questions regarding allowing Battle Mountain
<br />to discharge by virtue of issuing the permit. There appeared to be some misunderstanding regarding the
<br />responsibilities of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment with respect to issuing the permit.
<br />There were also many comments about the Colorado Department of Natural Resources mining permit for the
<br />original operation. Many of the commenters suggested that the CDPHE permit should not be issued.
<br />Response: The Colorado Water Quality Control Act (CWQCAI is the governing law for industrial and/or municipal
<br />dischargels) to surface waters and to alluvial groundwater that flows to the surface water. The CWQCA requires
<br />that every discharge to state waters (which includes groundwater and surface water) must have a permit to
<br />regulate the quality of each discharge. In the case of direct discharge to surface water, the permit is issued by the
<br />CDPHE. In the case of groundwater, the permit is issued by the implementing agency with primary authority of the
<br />facility. In this case, the implementing agency for discharges to groundwater is the Division of Minerals and
<br />Geology IDMGI in the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It is important to describe the interagency
<br />obligations between the CDPHE and the DMG. The DMG has an obligation under its authority to require the mining
<br />company to monitor and control discharges to the groundwater. Within the CWQCA, there is a provision pertaining
<br />to the issue of permitting jurisdiction. The provision was included in legislation and is referred to as Senate Bill (SBI
<br />181. In SB 181, the state legislature required that two state agencies with overlapping jurisdiction must coordinate
<br />to eliminate the potential for dual permits.
<br />Further, it requires the implementing agency to issue groundwater discharge permits that meet the substantive
<br />requirements of the CWQCA. That is to protect the water quality. One of the important features of this act is that
<br />unpermitted discharges must either cease or be permitted. When Battle Mountain notified CDPHE that there was a
<br />surface water discharge from the West Pit, the notification was for the seeps that were flowing to the surface
<br />water, not for the discharge to groundwater. The CDPHE issued a Cease and Desist Order which required Battle
<br />Mountain to do whatever was necessary to stop the discharge as well as requiring the company to apply for a
<br />discharge permit.
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