Laserfiche WebLink
iii iiiiuiiniiiiu <br />999 <br />INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM <br />TO: FOIDEL CREEK F E, CPDES PERMFI CO-0042161 <br />FROM: JANET BINN <br />SUBJECT: FISHCRE K B SPILLS: 3/17/99 AND 3/22/99 <br />DATE 3/24/99 <br />CC: DAN HERNANDEZ, KENT GORHAM <br />Joe Shoemaker of Twentymile Coal Company called mejust before noon on 3/23/99 to report two spills <br />of Mine discharge water at site 115, Fish Creek borehole area. <br />The first "spill" occurred between 5:00 pm 3/16/99 and 1:00 pm 3/17/99. Mr. Shoemaker had checked <br />the borehole site at 5:00 pm 3/16 and had not noted anything amiss. The following morning he collected <br />water samples at the Fish Creek Borehole. During sampling he noticed that flow rates at the dischazge <br />flume were lower than expected. At this point he began to investigate. At 1:00 pm he decided [hat there <br />was a leak in the pipeline. Some of the mine discharge water was not reaching the treatment ponds. <br />Water was leaking to an SAE located SW of the control building. The ptunp was turned off at I :00 pm. <br />Reference to permit page 2.05-80 indicates this SAE is sized to contain 0.12 acre feet of water. <br />Mr. Shoemaker did not know how much water had discharged to Fish Creek untreated. He stated that <br />the Flow meter located at the NW comer of the treatment ponds had broken in February. Twentymile <br />Coal Company had been measuring their flow from the borehole site based upon discharge measured at <br />the flume at NPDES outfall No. 001 (CO-0042161). The measurement on the flume on 3/17/99 was 0.3 <br />on the staff gauge as opposed to 0.5 that Twentymile Coal Company measures when the pump is <br />flowing at 390 gpm. He stated that the pH in the ponds was 9.0, which is the normal level. If there was <br />a considerable amount of volume bypassing the ponds, he would have expected an increase in pH based <br />upon a steady rate of NaOH being fed to the pond at the treatment building. <br />Mr. Shoemaker notified CDPH&E at 3:20 pm on 3/17/99 of the spill. Cazla Lenkey was not available so <br />he left a voice message for her. Water samples were collected. Joe said the sample was collected at the <br />point on [he toe of the containment berm where water was seeping through, roughly 10 feet away from <br />Fish Creek. The water sample was sent to an independent laboratory for analyses (ACZ). <br />The pump remained off and the waterline repair. Joe stated that it was a compression joint that had been <br />leaking. The pump was restarted at 8:00 am on 3/22/99. Joe checked the borehole site at 4:30 pm on <br />3/22/99. No problems were noted. At 8:00 am 3/23/99 Joe noted that the waterline was leaking again. <br />The pump was turned off and water samples were collected at the point of the berm that had been <br />breached at 9:00 am on 3/23/99. Flow at the flume was 0.3 on gauge. PH on Pond 3 (easternmost pond) <br />was 9.1. <br />Surface water samples were collected at upstream (Site 16) and Downstream sites on 3/22/99 as part of <br />Twentymile Coal Company regulaz hydrologic sampling schedule. <br />1 requested that Twentymile Coal Company copy the Division on the notification letter that Twentymile <br />Coal Company sends to the Health Department and to send the results of the water sampling. <br />