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• III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII • 999 STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Department o(Naeural Resources 131 3 Sherman Si., Room 215 Denier, Colorado 80203 Phone: 13031 865-3567 FAY' r303) 83?8106 October 25, 2000 FOR YOUR CORRESPONDENCE FILE ~~ DIVISION OF MINERALS GEOLOGY REC LA MA71ON MINING•$AF ETY BJI Owens Governor To: Bob Oswald e~eq F `Valcher &ccmi.e O~reclor ~/ ra¢hael B Long From: Harry Posey s•~`R~.~7 r , 0.~~o~o~re~~~r Subject: Ute Ule Mill and Golden Wonder Mine issues; M-78-091 In preparation for a meeting with BLM and EPA regarding a potential BLM-led cleanup at the Ute Ule Mill, you provided information and a file review highlighting some of the condition of the DMG permit that covers this site. For the record I am attaching your report to this memo. As noted, BLM intends to clean up the Ute Ule site, particularly to remove ARD- generating waste rock. The meeting scheduled for early next month is to discuss a possible MOU between BLM, DMG and EPA to address the Ute Ule site. Presumably, site cleanup could include parts of the site within DMG's currently permitted area. Under CERCLA, federal land managers are obligated to some degree to mitigate environmental hazards so the Ute Ule property being studied as a possible cleanup site. To the extent the BLM might lead EPA and the landowners to share the cost of remediation of existing waste rock I'd say they will probably go for it. In preparation for the discussion, DMG's most immediate concern is whether the permit issued to Gold Mining Inc, Lance Barker, president, is in compliance with the DMG permit and whether any of the AMD seepage from waste rock in the permit boundary is due to activities conducted under the existing permit. It is my impression based on a file review and site visits that the current operatory has not added any waste rock or tailings to the site and has not disturbed any of the pre-existing ARD-generating rock. I believe your records indicate that the permit is in compliance at Ute Ule and that even though seepage water quality below the mill is apparently poor, there is not evidence of contamination in the stream, Henson Creek -probably due to it extreme flow relative to the seep -and that the current seep water quality reflects apre-permit condition.