2003-10-12_REVISION - M1974052 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2. Documentation of the actual maximum exposed water surface area and of replacement water to cover depletions associated with any exposed area over 80 acres; or 3. Documentation of the actual maximum exposed water surrace area with a commitment and a plan (including a timeline and a map of the area to be backfilled) for backfilling so that the exposed acreage does not exceed 80 acres. To address the possible oxbow lake, the Varra Companies need to provide an affidavit stating whether or not the lake is natural or was created or expanded by mining. If mining occurred, the affidavit must state how much ground water was exposed before and after December 31, 1980. Additionally, prior to agreeing to the acreage release request for the Nelson property and following resolution of the aforementioned issues, a gravel pit well permit must be obtained for this property. When applying for this well permit, please submit a gravel pit well permit application, its $480 fee, 600-foot spacing information, and plan and cross- section drawings showing the initial static water level in the subject pits. As for the remaining mining activities at Pit No. 1, under DMG Permit No. M-74-052, in the NW '/< of the same Section 31, a substitute water supply plan was requested by Varra Companies on January 9, 1991, based upon water court case no. 90CW174 (not yet decreed as of the date of this memo), but insufficient replacement water was assigned to the plan. The next to last correspondence related to this site was a letter from the Division of Water Resources to Varra Companies dated January 24, 2000. This letter reiterated the inadequacy of the replacement water supply and indicated that, as a result, the plan still had not been approved. However, the July 10, 2003, conditional plan approval for the Durham Pit (M-78-056) contains provisions for replacement of some net evaporation obligations from Pit No. 1 (a.k.a. the Del Camino facility), M-74-052. Nonetheless, the first condition of approval requires Varra Companies to submit a renewal and amendment request for a substitute water supply plan and its fee for Pit No. 1 by October 31, 2003. Further, since a substitute water supply plan has never been approved for the Pit No. 1 mine site, a gravel pit well permit for the pit has never been issued. An application for a gravel pit well permit, bearing receipt no. 315601 B, was submitted on July 16, 1990, for the exposure of up to 98 acres in the SW '/< of the NW '/< of Section 31 -apparently not intending to cover the Nelson property portion of the operation. This application was returned to the applicant on September 20, 1990, due to the absence of an approved replacement plan. If a corrected and complete gravel pit well permit application, bearing this receipt number, is submitted with the proposed plan by October 31, 2003, no additional permitting fee will be required for this portion of the operation. This application must include 600-foot spacing information and plan and cross-section drawings showing the initial static water level of the pit(s). Otherwise, a new gravel pit well permit application, its $480 fee, 600-foot spacing information, and plan and cross-section drawings showing the initial static water level must be submitted. Please contact Kevin Rein at (303)866-3581 with any questions z