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._ . <br />Mountain Coal Company <br />West Elk Mine <br />Post Office Box 591 <br />Somerset, Colorado 87434 <br />Telephone 970 929-5015 <br />Fax 970 9295595 <br />January 21, 1997 <br />Ms. Kathleen Sullivan <br />Water Quality Control Division <br />Colorado Department of Public Health <br />and the Environment <br />4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, B-2 <br />Denver, CO 80222-1530 <br />RE: Mountain Coal Company; West Elk Mine <br />Dear Ms. Sullivan: <br />/~ ZL-97 <br />°~ D <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />sss <br />As you know, from our conversation this morning between you, Jon Kubic and Bob Shuckle <br />representing the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) and myself, Henry Bazbe, and Paige <br />Beville representing Mountain Coal Company (MCC), last night at approximately 10:30 p.m. <br />MCC experienced an inflow in the 1 Southeast Headgate (1 SEHG) that is flowing at <br />approximately 7,500 gpm. Although there were no injuries, several pieces of crucial mine <br />equipment were lost as a result of the inflow. Based on available information, MCC has <br />determined that this fault system which is producing the current inflow is not the same fault <br />system that caused the previous inflows. <br />At this time, MCC is constructing seals in the 1 SEHG to contain the water as much as possible. <br />We aze also setting pumps and pipe in this area to pump some of the water out of the mine and <br />some to a sealed sump area in the mine. At this time MCC is able to pump approximately 3,500 <br />gpm out of the mine and approximately 850 gpm to the sealed area. The remainder will continue <br />to flood the mine until sufficient pumps and pipes aze installed to either pump it out of the mine <br />andlor to sumps in the mine. Water that is pumped out of the mine will be sent to pond MB-1. <br />As you aze aware, the WQCD approved the direct discharge of fault water to the emergency <br />spillway of MB-1 early last yeaz, hence, if necessary, some water may be pumped directly to the <br />emergency spillway of MB-l . We expect that we will begin discharging MB-1 on Wednesday, <br />January 22, 1997. <br />Earlier today, we collected upstream and downstream water quality samples on the North Fork of <br />the Gtnnison River. As we discussed, we plan to continue to collect water quality samples from <br />the North Fork of the Gunnison River and the MB-1 discharge at least twice per day. In addition, <br />we will conduct WET tests on samples from each location twice per day. <br />RFCFI`~~D <br />JAN 2 41996 <br /> <br />