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~~ • Twentymila Coal Dear Water User/Owner: The purpose of this letter is to notify you of an accident discharge of slurried coal material to Foidel Creek, which was detected on September 11'". The discharge consisted of fine coal and rock particles suspended in water, and an inert chemical agent. Please be assured that none of these materials are considered hazardous, toxic, or harmful to aquatic life, and do not represent a known health risk to downsUeam users. Twentymile Coal Company (TCC) took immediate steps to stop the discharge, limit the downstream movement of the material, evaluate any impacts, and notify appropriate authorities. We are now proceeding with clean-up efforts. Due to the fine-grained nature of the rock and coal materials, some of this material may be picked-up and carried downstream by normal or storm flows, appearing as black or cloudy sUeamflows, however, water quality is not affected and remains suitable for human, livestock, and recreational uses. The following summarize relevant information about this discharge and TCC's related actions and clean-up efforts. Relevant Information on Miti:'ation and Clean-ao Efforts 29515 RouB County Road #27 Oak Creek CO 80467 970.879.3800 • TCC operates an on-site wal-washing facility which removes rock material from the coal so that the clean coal product can be shipped and sold as a usable energy source, rather than disposed of as an • unusable waste material. • The discharge originated from the coal-washing facility, and is composed of 5nely crushed rock material, coal fines, water, and an inert chemical agent. The chemical is anon-hazardous, non-toxic powder which causes the fine rock and coal particles to settleout. • After stopping further discharge, TCC Environmental Staff immediately obtained water quality samples at the discharge point, and proceeded downstream on Foidel Creek to determine how faz downstream the slurried material had migrated with normal seasonal low-flows. Containment booms were placed at several locations to limit downstream migration of the slurried material and to filter coal and rock solids from the slurry mixture. • TCC notified the responsible regulatory agencies including the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (CORMS), Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE), and Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW). TCC subsequently met with representatives of the CORMS and CROW on-site to review site conditions, update them on immediate control and mitigation activities, and work with them to develop clean-up plans. Outing the site review with the CDOW, active fish and aquatic life were observed in the affected stream segment. • The limit of any visible evidence of the discharged material was approximately 2.5 miles downstream from the point of discharge (on TCC property) and approximately 3.0 miles above the confluence of Foidel Creek with Middle Creek. At this point, slow-lying marshy area acted as a natural trap to prevent further migration. A water quality samp]e was also obtained at this point. Beyond the marshy azea, a segment of Foidel Creek about one-half mile long was dry due to low-flow conditions.