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/ • <br />Colowyo strongly disagreed with the proposed civil penalty as <br />discussed in their August 12, 1993 letter. Additional <br />information was submitted after the proposed civil penalty was <br />issued and in the conference. The proposed penalty was: <br />History $50.00 <br />Seriousness $1500.00 <br />Fault $750.00 <br />Good Faith $0.00 <br />Total $2300.00 <br />History <br />There was no disagreement with this component. <br />Seriousness <br />Colowyo felt the penalty was too high. Colowyo did not contest <br />the fact that sediment laden water left the permit area without <br />passing through a sediment area. But, they had designed and <br />maintained the ditch in accordance with the Rules and their <br />permit requirements. The rainfall that caused the NOV was of <br />tremendous proportions, and adjacent natural watersheds showed <br />evidence of excessive erosion as well. <br />Based on the information presented, I believe the damage was <br />significant. State highway 13 was blocked in one spot below a <br />breach in the south ditch. Two large deltas of debris and <br />sediment were deposited on hay fields below the highway. These <br />deltas could be traced directly to breaches in the ditch. Large <br />gullies formed below these breaches. Although, the design of the <br />ditch was deleted from the NOV, I believe the ditch, and the way <br />it was designed, (specifically the length of the ditch, steep <br />segments in natural drainages and sharp turns) concentrated the <br />flow and compounded the erosional problems beyond what occurred <br />in a natural drainage. Duration of damage was short, however I <br />believe the extent was significant. Based on the information <br />presented in the conference, seriousness is proposed at <br />$1,000.00. <br />F u t <br />Based on the information presented in the conference, I conclude <br />the violation was unavoidable despite the exercise of reasonable <br />care. The storm that caused the breach in the ditch far exceeded <br />the 10-year, 24-hour storm event (the design event for which the <br />ditch was designed). Colowyo took reasonable care by <br />constructing the ditch in excess of the certified design, and <br />they have been working diligently with the Division to model the <br />ditch since March, 1991. No penalty for fault is proposed. <br />Good faith <br />Based on the information presented in the conference, and as <br />described in their August 12, 1993 letter, I am proposing a <br />$500.00 reduction for good faith for the following reasons. <br />