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• Page 6 December 14, 1558 Water quality data summarized in Tables A-1 - A-3 of the November TR-15 esponse Plan, contains records of water quality Vends within surface monitoring stations on the Rito eco. Page 15 of the response plan indicates that' at no time have in-stream values exceeded the in-s eam standards for the Rito Seco."1° This statement is false. Data from RS-1 does not appear to demonstrate any violations of in-strea standards, but data from RS-2 and RS-5 both indicate violations of Manganese standards. Table A 2 indicates that the post mining average manganese concentration is 0.16 mg/L. This average is well above the 0.05 mg/L standards established by permit standards. In fact, every sample taken from RS- since October 7" of 1997 has exceeded state water quality standards. Data from RS-5 summarized in Table A-3 shows that Manganese levels have ~een high in the Rita Seco since pre-mining monitoring efforts. Nevertheless, there have been la ge changes in Manganese concentration since that time. The pre-mining average Manganese co centration was 0.069 mg/L, the active mining average increased by 0.53 mg/L to 0.132 mg/L, and Wally, the post- mining average has increased another 0.50 mg/L to 0.18 mg/L. Beyond the changes to water quality in the creek that BMRI acknowledgds in the TR-15 Response Plan, Manganese levels have been above state water quality standards fof the duration of BMRI's operations and have worsened consistently during mining and post-mining ti s. BMRI must recognize, for the record, that certain water quality parameters within the Rito Seco waters are not being met 2) West Pit Seepage On October 28, 1998 Anne Baldrige reported to the Division that a s ring had been discovered. She described it as "Flowing Directly to Rito Seco."'s She said that MRI "Plans to temporarily dig a trench to collect the flow which will be pumped to and applied in the est pit areas:'16 Since that time, a well, pump and "French Drain' have been placed at the location of a spring. They are being used to conVol water communication from the west pit to the Rito Seco, an ideally prevent the discharge of polluted surface waters from the spring into the Rito Seco. The pump draws water from the "French Drain" back into the pit. The Vench as cut through the pit to divert flow from the point where it is released onto the pit, toward the ba kwall. Despite BMRI's efforts to prevent water collection in the pit, a couple acres of standing ater have been consistently present since the installation of pump. Not only has polluted ground wat r from the creek resulted in surface discharge next to the creek, but it is now constantly present as tanding surface water in the west pit. We have checked site conditions weekly since the first week o November and this condition has not ceased. On October 28, 1998, BMRI provided Inorganic Analyses Results from th~seep to Kathy Dolan of the Colorado Department of Public Health.' TDS, Sulfate and Manganese I els were above permit standards and state water quality standards. TDS levels were well above the ermitted level of 613 mg/L, measuring 1049 mg/L. Sulfate levels were 583.8 mg/L; maximum pe fitted levels are 250mg/L. Also of note, total Manganese levels were measured at 2.472mg/L, disso ed Manganese was recorded at 2.444 mg/L, the maximum concentration according to permit condition is 0.05 mg/L. " Ibid. 15 10-28-98, Hand Written Message, presumably a Telephone message, From Anne Baldrige. in Ibid. '~ November 2, 1998, Letter from Anne Baldrige to Kathy Dolan.