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12/10.;98 THU 18:15 FA3 • • (~JOt18 <br />information (i.e., surface water recharge use). Any future enforcement reviewsishould then be <br />based on the new, corrected levels. <br />2. The points of Compliance Must Be Expanded <br />Currently, the primary focus of BMRI's and DMG's enforcement invest gation appears to <br />be based on Point of Compliance (POC) Well M11R. Based on the current pe~it, that may be <br />acceptable. However, the MLRB should expand the number and location of thel POCs to account <br />for actual conditions at the site. Specifically, a new POC should be established tit the newly <br />discovered spring seepage and subsequently-installed sump and pump back system, es well as the <br />additional wells proposed in the November, 1998 BMRI Report. <br />Since BMRI has admitted that the seepage at this point is coming from a West Pit, this <br />flow is a good indicator of water quality conditions resulting from the Mine.3 F~r reference, the <br />recent Halepaska and BMRI Reports detail the duea connection and influence $te West Pit has on <br />the Rito Seco Creek and its alluvium. <br />II. The Fact That Elevated Levels of Pollution May Be Due to the West it's Alteration <br />of the GeoHydrology of the Area Is Not am E=case to Avoid Full Co pliance with <br />Water Quality Standards <br />tom'" <br />~'~~ <br />~~( <br />BMRI maintains that the elevated levels of pollution flowing to the Rito eco and its <br />alluvium are primarily due to its alteration of the local hydrologic system becaus of the <br />excavation and backfill of the West Pit. That tray be true. It is also largely irrel vant to a ? Q <br />determination as to whether BMRI should be held responsible for the deteriorate of the Rito IP ^" <br />Saco and local ground water. !t must be remembered that such alteration is due lely to BMRI's <br />actions at the site. Any resulting water quality problems are the company's responsibility. <br />Water quality protections in the Mined Land Act and MLRB Rules are nok limited to <br />chemical pollution or acid mine drainage caused by chemical reactions in mined ~aterials. Any <br />worsening of water quality due to "disturbances in the hydrologic balance" must "minimized" <br />by all permitted operations. CRS 34-32-116('f)(g). <br />In this case, BMRI admits that the excavation of the West Pit and the res ring backfill has { <br />removed the original hydrologic condition that allegedly prevented ground water om the pre- <br />Cambrian bedrock from flowing to the Rito Seco -the green clay fault zone. It a ds a <br />supplemental theory that the elevated levels of TDS and Sulfate are due to the "fl skiing" of <br />1 Recent site visits have observed strong evidence of the seepage from the West P~t into the Rito <br />Seco. For example, while the stream is largely becoming ice-covered in the stret above and <br />below the observed spring/seep, the Rito Seco just at and just below the location f the new <br />pumping well is free from ice. This strongly suggests that ground water in the i ediate vicinity <br />of the springlseep (whose waters BMRI admitted was coming from the West Pit) (s also comins <br />from the West Pit. Ls other words, the new spring/seep pump is not preventing water below the <br />elevation of the pump ti•om reaching the stream. <br />