HYDRO30839

• Permit No: M1999002
• IBM Index Class Name: Hydrology
• Doc Date: 8/1/2005
• Doc Name: 19th quarterly report
• From: american soda llp
• To: dmg
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Executive Summary
American Soda, L.L.P. is submitting this 19th Quarterly Ground Water Monitoring
Report in compliance with E.P.A. U. I. C. Area Permit CO3858-00000 FINAL
Modification No. 9 (March 31, 2005), MLRB Hard Rock Mining Operation Permit
No. M-99-002 (Technical Revision No. 4), and U. S. BLM Sodium Lease Nos. C-
0118328 and C-0118329 Record of Decision. The data presented in this
document represents the time period from April 1, 2005 through June 30, 2005.
The Piceance processing plant and well field were in temporary suspension of
production operations status and no solution mining activity occurred during the
report period.
Presently, Technical Revision #4 (TR#4) has been approved by the Colorado
Division of Minerals and Geology. TR #4 authorizes changes to the frequency of
monitoring and sampling constituents for the Piceance Creek facility during the
non-operational period. The modified monitoring plan was approved by the EPA
in the last part of March 2005. Major changes to the monitoring plan detailed in
the modified plan were instituted beginning April 1, 2005. During the transitional
time period, monitoring frequencies and constituents remained consistent with
the original monitoring plan implemented in 1999 but changes reflecting the
temporary suspension of production operations are now represented in this 19~h
Quarterly report.
The reporting period hydrologic monitoring program for the Yankee Gulch
Sodium Minerals Project includes quarterly monitoring of eight key metals and
14 wet chemistry constituents from 22 sampling locations including five separate
water bearing zones. Sampling points are positioned up gradient, down gradient,
cross gradient, and in-panel in relation to the mining activity. Recording of water
elevations and field parameters is completed in conjunction with collection of the
water quality samples from each well. As a result of the high solids content of
the dissolution aquifer, sampling is only reliably successful atone dissolution
sample point. The completion of this well (21-3D) is in the upper portion of the
dissolution aquifer where dissolved solids are somewhat less concentrated.
Water levels in all three dissolution surface monitoring wells are being manually
measured and recorded on a quarterly basis. One down stream private
domestic ground water well (BURKE) is also sampled quarterly.
Before American Soda commenced mining operations in 2000, fifteen months of
baseline ground water data was collected. The current quarter monitoring data
for each well is summarized in a one page table per well in this document. Not
only is the raw data for the present reporting period included, but also regulatory