REV90728

• Permit No: C1981034
• IBM Index Class Name: Revision
• Doc Date: 1/7/1999
• Doc Name: MEMO RED CANYON MINE 1 PN C-81-034 HYDROLOGY REVIEW FOR PHASE II AND III BOND RELEASE APPLICATION
• From: DMG
• To: MIKE BOULAY
• Type & Sequence: SL2
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
Depanmenl of Natural Resources
131 3 Sherman 51 ,Room 215 ',~+
Denver, Colorado 80203 '~
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Phone [phone] '4'
FAX. [phone] U6
DEPARTMENT 0I=
NATURAi.
RESOURCES
Rov Romer
Governor
lames 5. Lochhead
E~ecul ive Dueaor
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
M;enaei e. Long
Division Dvec~or
TO: Dan Mathews, Larry Routten
FROM: Mike Botchy M~'
DATE: January 7, 1999
SUBJECT: Red Canyon Mine No. 1 (Permit No. C-81-034)
Hydrology Review for Phase II and 111 Bond Release Application
At your request, I have reviewed the Red Canyon Mine bond release application materials submitted
November 18, 1998. 1 have also reviewed the permit applicationpackage (PAP), Annual Hydrology
Reports, AHR correspondence, bond release site inspection report, and recent groundwater
monitoring data submitted by MINREC, INC.
Surface water and groundwater data and information presented in the bond release application
package and letter report submitted by MINREC, Inc. were generally acceptable and no major
problems were noted. With the exception of [he situation regarding the rising water level in well
E-1, no significanthydrologyisues were identified. The issue of the rising water level in well E-1
was addressed in our review of the 1997 AHR. In our AHR review letter dated May 28, 1998, we
asked that MINREC, Inc. resample and measure depth to water in well E-1 and provide a full
groundwateranalysisveport. We also requested that they sample two alluvial wells and one refuse
pile monitoring well. The data were provided in MINREC, Inc.'s letter dated October 1, 1998.
However, a groundwater analysis report was very minimally provided. The letter states that the
quality ofwater inwell E-1 is "better" than baseline, which may indicate well E-1 contains a mixtwe
ofwater from the alluvium and the E-1 coal seam. The letter further indicatesthat this may provide
an explanation for why the water level in well E-1 is higher than expected. However, the source of
the water rising in well E-1 was not positively identified and no conclusive data were presented to
support this claim.
The concerns that I have include: 1) what is the source of the rising water in well E-1, 2) does the
potential exist for perpetual discharge from the mine portals as a result of the rising water/inflow,