ENFORCE36083 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT JUSTIFICATION CO C-93-12 Cessation Order CO-93-12, as amended, was issued at the Golden Eagle Mine for "Failure to conduct mining operations to minimize water pollution by allowing the discharge of coal fines through the Pond 3 outlet. Effluent discharge from Pond 3 appeared to be out of compliance with NPDES limitations. Pond 3 discharge goes into the Purgatoire River. Samples of discharge were taken by the Division and the U.S. Office of Surface Mining for further analysis. Pond discharge was in the range of 50-100 GPM." Joe Dudash, of the Division, issued the Cessation Order on Thursday March 25, 1993 at 12:20 p.m.. During his inspection of the mine site, he observed dark, murky water discharging at a rate of 50-100 gpm from the pond 3 outlet. The water was discharging through a gated valve, ran through a trench into a Beaver pond area and emptied into the Purgatoire River. Mr. Dudash saw evidence of contamination all along the route. A plume of coal fines was observed in the Purgatoire River approximately 250-300 feet long by 50-100 feet wide and along the banks of the river. Mr. Dudash did not believe that the water was in compliance with NPDES TSS permit requirements, and he ordered the operator to stop discharging offsite until effluent met effluent limits. He allowed the operator until 5:00 p.m. to cease discharging water offsite. At 5:00 p.m. there was still about 1-2 gpm discharging from Pond 2 and about 1 gpm from Pond 3. To cease discharge from Pond 2 the operator pumped the pond and used water trucks to haul the water to Pond 4. The source of the trickle at Pond 3 was thought to be a broken valve. The operator sealed the gate with bentonite in an effort to stop the flow. This seal broke and water was seeping under the apron. Water from Pond 3 was then pumped to Pond 4 also. in the meantime, the operator had shut the pumps off in the mine. A trickle of water continued discharging until Friday afternoon when the Cessation Order was abated. Samples were taken of the discharge by Mr. Dudash and analyzed by the Colorado Department of Health. Mr. Dudash~s sample was 52 mg/L for TSS. The NPDES permit requires a 30 day TSS average of 35 mg/L with a maximum 1 day discharge of 70 mg/L. Results of the sample showed that the water was in compliance and Mr. Dudash modified the Cessation Order to include failure to minimize water pollution by allowing the discharge of coal fines through Pond 3 outlet. Mr. Ron Thompson, representing Basin Resources, contested the issuance of the Cessation Order, because the mine water was in compliance with the NPDES TSS standard. Furthermore, they had developed a plan with the Colorado Department of Health to reduce the TSS average from the mine water discharge. A single flocculent treatment was added to the mine water discharge to reduce the average TSS.