1992-05-28_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1983141

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� III IIIIIIIIIIIII III • G �!� 999 1 ] GOLD HILL VENTURES P.O. Box 1523 4AY 2 8 Ift Boulder, Colorado 80502 Mined Cana Reclamation Attn: Mr. William C. York-Feirn May 28, 1992 Mined Land Reclamation Division 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 Dear Mr. York-Feirn, This letter is written in response to the letter that Mr. Evan Freirich addressed to you on March 20, 1992. In his letter, Mr. Freirich referred to unpermitted water discharges from the Cash mine into the drainage which flows through Summerville where he resides. Mr. Freirich contended that he and several of his neighbors, "have observed unusually high levels of water in the creek which lies below and is directly fed by the drainage of the Cash operation." He further stated, "This creek is seasonal and is usually dry." And, "Specifically on or about July 1st and October 25 there was (sic) unusually high levels of water in the creek." Mr. Freirich imparted his observation that, "generally there has been water in the creek most of the Summer and Fall" and that the water "tended to flow in the mornings while being dry in the afternoons." He authoritatively asserted that, "This would tend to rule out natural drainage." I would like to state in the strongest terms possible that Gold Hill Ventures has not been discharging Cash mine water into Cash Gulch. All of the water that has been pumped from the upper three levels of the Cash mine has been stored underground in several other mines that are approved water storage areas. For the last four years, we have found that it is only necessary to pump the Cash mine workings two times a year in order to keep the water level from rising above the electrical panels located on the first level station of the mine. We generally pump the mine out during May or June to dewater the mine of the late Winter and early Spring water inflow; and again in September or October to accommodate the late Fall and early Winter water inflow. It costs between $600 and $800 for electrical power each time that the Cash mine pump is turned on during any single period of power usage. If the Cash mine pump was the source of the water in the creek that Mr. Freirich has observed during most of the Summer and Fall months, then Gold Hill Ventures would have to be turning on the pump at least once a month during this same period. This would result in a power bill of between $3,600 and $4,800 for this interval of time. In fact, the Cash mine can be pumped below the third level in around eight to ten days, twice a year, for a cost of $1,200 to $1,600. Common sense would indicate that Gold Hill Ventures would not take six months and $4,800 to accomplish what it can in two separate months of pumping for a maximum of$1,600. Gold