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During November and December of 2004, the Coal Program, in conjunction with WQCD, <br />determined that four exceedances of water quality standazds had occurred during the summer of <br />2004. Two of these exceedances occurred from a July 2004 discharge at one of Colowyo's <br />sediment ponds, and the other two exceedances occurred from an August 2004 dischazge at <br />another Colowyo sediment pond. While the Coal Program was conducting this investigation, <br />Colowyo asked its analytical laboratory to re-test its July and August 2004 water samples. The re- <br />test results were submitted to the Coal Program in early December. While the results of the re- <br />tested samples demonstrated regulatory compliance, the results were considered inapplicable, as <br />the seven-day analytical holding time (the maximum amount of time allowed between sample <br />collection and sample analysis) for the samples had been exceeded. On December 21, 2004, the <br />Coal Program received a copy of a letter from WQCD to Colowyo stating that the four water <br />quality pazameter exceedances were a violation of Colowyo's discharge permit, but that the <br />WQCD would not be taking enforcement action at this time. <br />Coal Program Enforcement Action Subject to Colowyo's Request for Vacation <br />Section 4.05.1(3) of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Boazd for Coal <br />Mining states, "In no case shall Federal and State water quality statutes, regulations, standazds, or <br />effluent limitations be violated." Our MOU with WQCD, however, states that "DMG shall not <br />issue NOVs for self-reported exceedances as submitted on WQCD Discharge Monitoring Report <br />(DMR) forms". As these exceedances were self-reported, the Coal Program did not issue an <br />NOV for violations of Rule 4.05.1(3), in accordance with our MOU. <br />Section 4.05.13(2)(a) of the Board's Regulations, however, goes on to state that surface water <br />monitoring "shall result in the person who conducts the surface or underground mining activities <br />notifying the Division within 5 days after analytical results of the sample collections indicate that <br />noncompliance with a permit condition of applicable standard has occurred." The Coal Program <br />determined that this notification did not occur. Section 5.03.2(2)(a) of the Boazd's Regulations <br />requires the Coal Program to issue a Notice of Violation when anon-cessation order violation is <br />determined to have occurred; therefore, the Coal Program issued NOV CV-2004-006 on <br />December 21, 2004 for "two incidents of failing to notify the Division within 5 days after receipt <br />of analytical results of a monitored surface water dischazge that indicated noncompliance with a <br />permit condition or applicable standard". <br />Coal Program Comments on Colowyo's Request for Vacation <br />Colowyo requests the Coal Program's NOV should be vacated for the following three reasons: <br />(1) Impact to the environment and the administrative misdoings were negligible in <br />magnitude; <br />(2) The enforcement discrepancy in the handling of these incidents by DMG versus <br />WQCD is significant and appeazs to be a lack of agency coordination while dealing <br />with a dual regulatory circumstance; and <br />