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iiiiiiiiiiiiii Mountain Coal Company West Elk Mine Post Office Bax 591 Somerset, Cokxado 81434 Telephone 303929.5075 Fax 303 929-5595 August 26, 1993 Ms. Christine Johnston Division of Minerals and Geology 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 AUG 3 p ]993 Re: Mountain Coal Company, West Elk Mine, Permit No.C-80-007, Response to the Division's Letter of August 16, 1993, Regarding Citizen Complaint Dear Christine: i~ A citizen complaint filed with the Division by Larry Mautz alleges damage to a spring in Lone Pine Gulch, NEl/4, Section 20,Township 13 South, Range 90 West. A review of adjudicated water rights in this area reveals that no one has an adjudicated water right to the spring Mr. Mautz believes to be damaged. Enclosed for your information is a water rights report from the Colorado Division of Water Resources, Division 4. The report clearly shows that one adjudicated water right, Jumbo Spring No. 3 Pond is located in Section 20. More specifically, that spring is located in the NWl/4, NEl/4, NWl/4 of Section 20. Mr. Mautz has referred to the allegedly damaged spring as "Jumbo Mountain Spring and Pipe Line" and "Jumbo Spring and Pipeline No. S". According to the same Division of Water Resources report, Jumbo Pipeline and Spring No. 5 and Jumbo Spring and Pipeline occur in Section 24, Township 13 South, Range 91 West of the 6th Principle Meridian. Mountain Coal Company believes that the spring identified as CR-12 in the existing permit text and maps and observed during your inspection of July 13, 1993, is the Jumbo Spring No.3 Pond, the only adjudicated water right in Section 20: This spring and pond were made part of the monitoring program this year. Another spring, G-26, had been monitored, but was removed from the monitoring program seven years ago, as the spring and access to it had been damaged by landslides (several years before mining occurced in the area), the same area as CR-12 and the allegedly damaged spring. Other non-adjudicated, often intermittently flowing springs may exist on Mountain Coal Company (MCC) lease and permit areas. During wet years, such as this one, many springs appear. In normal or dry years, those springs do not flow. We believe that the spring identified by Mr. Mautz is such a spring. None-the-less, because the spring is apparently a great concern to Mr. Mautz, MCC is willing to include this spring in the monitoring program. Mountain Coal Company does not believe the spring of concern has been injured by mining in this area. Even if it has, however, the fact that the spring is not an adjudicated water right means that Mr. Mautz has