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have been previously submitted to your office). Owens Brothers in currently in negotiations with Kerr-McGee and Patina Oil and Gas that will allow for relocation of some of their lines and will allow for mining within the 200' setback preferred by the DMG. However, given our past dealings with these oil and gas companies, it is highly unlikely that these agreements will be reached in a timely manner and will not be available prior to the Divisions decision date of May 31, 2002. We ask that you approve the subject application with a stipulation that the Applicant not be allowed to mine within 200' of the oil and gas structures until either an SSA for these structures is approved by your office OR agreements with the appropriate companies are reached and submitted to your office. 5. Please be aware that the portion of the mitigation plan referring to delivery of water via the Side Hill Ditch was presented as an interim measure for supplying water to the wetland until such time that the gravity-fed system could be installed upon completion of mining in Mine Area 1. It is our belief that given that subsurface groundwater flows in the area are generally to the northwest, it is highly unlikely that the wetlands will be affected by mining of Area 1. If this is in fact the case, there will be no need to deliver water via the Side Hill Ditch to Ms. Parker's wetland. The above statement not withstanding, we have done some more research regarding what would be necessary for installation of a headgate off of the Side Hill Ditch. We have learned that the Sitle Hill Ditch is not owned by a Ditch Company at all, but that it is a lateral off of the Last Chance Ditch owned by 4 private landowners who maintain the ditch of their own accord. According to Mr. Harold Nelson, secretary for the Last Ditch Company, those owners are Mr. Robert Nelson, Ms. Pamela Heintzelman, Ms. Cynthia Parker, and Ralph Nix Produce. Mr. Nelson indicates that the right to place a headgate on the ditch would be decided by agreements with one or all of the four owners. We have spoken with Ms. Parker regarding the possibility of placing a headgate on her portion of the Side Hill Ditch and she has indicated that she is willing to work with the Applicant in placement of the structure. With the above in mind, the Applicant commits to attempting to reach an agreement with the appropriate owners of the Side Hill Ditch (in this case, Ms. Parker) that will allow for the installation of a headgate for delivery of Owens' shares of the Last Chance Ditch to Ms. Parkers wetland on an as needed basis. However, due to the nature of reaching agreements with third parties, we are pessimistic about the likelihood that an agreement can be supplied to the Division before the May 31, 2002 decision deadline. We ask that you approve the subject application with a stipulation that Owens Brothers cannot mine Areas 2 and 3 of the property (those areas directly across from the wetland) until an agreement is submitted to the Division. If Owens Brothers is not able to reach an agreement with Ms. Parker, they commit to exploring other options of delivering water to the wetland while Mine Area 1 is being completed. 6. As discussed at our meeting of April 24, 2002, an application has been submitted to the State Engineer for approval of a substitute supply plan. However, due to changes in the mining and reclamation plan since the date of original submittal, we have had to revise depletion figures. These revised numbers were submitted to the State Engineer last week for review. We hope to have approval of the TSSP within the month. As you know, a well permit for gravel mines cannot be approved without an approved TSSP. Once the TSSP is approved, application will be made for the well permit. We ask that you approve the subject permit with a stipulation that no exposure of groundwater from mining operations occur until the TSSP and well permits are approved and submitted to your office.