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INTRODUCTION <br />Active mining and milling operations at the Battle Mountain Resources, Inc. (BMRI) <br />San Luis Mine ended in November 1997, and the site activities since that date have <br />focused on final reclamation and closure. In July 1998, routine ground water <br />monitoring down gradient of the West Pit showed results for total dissolved solids <br />(TDS) greater than the Permit Condition Value (PCV) at the M-11R compliance well. <br />BMRI responded according to procedures outlined in Technical Revision 15 (TR-15), <br />and followed through with an extensive hydrologic and geochemical chazacterization <br />that resulted in development of TR-26. A detailed water management plan was <br />described in TR-26 that addressed ground water levels in the backfilled West Pit and <br />ground water capture wells in the adjacent Rito Seco alluvial aquifer. Maintaining <br />the ground water level in the West Pit below the elevation of the adjacent Rito Seco <br />stream bed effectively prevents ground water outflow from the West Pit and allows <br />backfill materials to rinse chemical mass that had accumulated when the backfill <br />material was stockpiled as waste rock. During the period of rinse out, ground water <br />extracted from the West Pit has been processed in a water treatment facility prior to <br />discharge to the Rito Seco under a CDPS permit issued by the Colorado Department <br />of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE}. <br />As was described in a technical document submitted to the Division of Reclamation, <br />Mining, and Safety (DBMS), formerly known as the Division of Minerals and <br />Geology (DMG), (Appendix A) the rinse out of chemical mass from backfill material <br />in the West Pit ground water has been completed (Telesto, 2005). The resulting <br />ground water quality has returned to pre-mining conditions (Appendix B, DBMS, <br />2005), which allows BMRI to consider an alternative water management program for <br />the West Pit. This permit amendment describes the proposed long-term water <br />management plan for the West Pit and has been prepazed for consideration by DBMS <br />and the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Boazd (CMLRB). <br />The San Luis Project Permit, File No. M-88-112, was issued by DBMS on Mazch 22, <br />1988, and was followed by a November 1989 permit amendment. Additionally, in <br />Battle Mountnin Resources, /nc. 1 Telesto Solutions, lnc. <br />P?PmjedA2i2-Newmont(SanLUis)\SanLUis~Permi~Amendment- Wut Pit Managemc~gVd Report&PDFS~PertuitAmeMmen~ v4.dce October 2006 <br />