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iii iiuiiiiiiiu ~i~ COAL COMPANY August 12, 1993 Ms. Janet Binns Reclamation Specialist Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology 215 Centennial Building 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 RE: Dear Ms. Binns: 5731 State Highway 13 Meeker, Colorado 81641 (303) 824-4451 _. ~. AUG 171993 D~:-I;.- s JGi Notice of Proposed Amount of Civil Penalty Colowyo Response and Comments Permit C-81-o19 Colowyo Coal Company NOV C-93-077 Regarding the above captioned topic, Colowyo deems it necessary to make the following responses and comments. B. Seriousness 1. Colowyo does not dispute the fact that sediment-laden water left the South Collection Ditch, left the permit area untreated, causing contribution of sediment to streamflow, runoff, and areas outside the permit boundary. But it is very important to realize that the rainfall event which caused this fo happen was of tremendous proportions. As contended and documented in Colowyo's June 2 and June 15, 1993 Requests for Vacation addressed to Mr. Mike Long of DMG, and as further verified and documented by Susan Morrison, DMG, in a memorandum to Larry Routten, DMG, the rainfall storm event was verified to be in excess of the 10-year, 24-hour event for which the ditch was required by regulations to be sized. Additionally, please note the DMG Modifications of NOV C-93-077 dated August 2 and August 4, 1993 which in part states "Estimations of flows in the south perimeter ditch and storm modelling data indicate the storm event which caused the ditch to fail was in excess of the 10-year, 24-hour event which the ditch was designed to handle. There is no evidence that the inability of the ditch to pass the flow was due to a failure to maintain the ditch. Therefore, the portion of the NOV citing failure to maintain the ditch has been deleted." Also stated in the modifications is that "This modification effectively deletes the June 3, 1993 modification which added