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Supplement to the Addendum On June 4, 2001, a second Pre-Hearing Conference was held at Division of Minerals and Geology offices. At that conference, two Pre-Hearing Statements on behalf of Western Mutual and Michael Ptasnik and one additional exhibit on behalf of objectors Rippe, Ptasnik and Scott were presented. The following are issues of concern to Westem Mutual and Michael Ptasni}; as noted in the Pre-Hearing Statements and the Division's rationale for the approval recommendation over various concerns and objections to the S & H Mine application, File No. M-2000-158. Issues from the Pre-Hearing Statement of Western Mutual Ditch Company ISSUES WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE DIVISION AND THE BOARD "The Applicant must demonstrate that the proposed de-watering activities will not injure neighboring alluvial wells. At a minimum, the jollowing conditions should be imposed on the Applicant: " !. '7Jo dry mining ojany kind (with limited exception-see below) shall be permitted without re-application to the Mined Land Reclamation Board. Applicant shall notify all parties to the present Application proceeding by mail ojany re-application seeking increased de-watering activities. " Division response: If an operator wishes to change any aspect of the reclamation permit, the permit must be modified to allow for this change. That modification may take the form of a technical revision (a change in the pemtit which does not have more than a minor eEYect upon the approved Reclamation Plan) or amendment (a change in the permit or an application which increases the acreage of the affected land, or which has a significant effect upon the approved Reclamation Plan). [n this case, the Division would prefer not to condition the pemtit to require the operator to notify all parties, however, the Board has the option to do so. "De-watering activity shall be limited to the creation oja 'starter pit' for the assembly ojthe wet mining dredge, and the jollowing restrictions shall apply: 2. "No more than /acre on the entire property that is the subject ojthe application shall be de-watered at any one time. " Division Response: In a letter dated March 30, 2001, the Applicant committed to limit the area of dewatering to one (1) acre or less in each lake area as recommended in the March 23, 2001 Leonard Rice Consulting Water Engincers Repoli submitted to the Division. Any deviation from this plan will need to be submitted and approved by the Division. 3. "Any starter pit shall be constructed as jar from any neighboring wells as possible, as close [toJ the South Platte River as possible, and in areas ojreduced aquifer transmissivity. " Division Response: Tn a letter dated April 4, 2001, the Applicant committed to following the recommendations in the Leonard Rice Report dated March 23, 2001. Specifically, mining in each lake area will be done as far from off site wells as possible and as close to the river as practical for the lake area development. 4. "De-watering activities shall occur only between the months ojOcrober and March, inclusive. " Division Response: The Division does not see how the limitation of dewatering activities to certain times during the year would have any effect on the operation of the Westem Mutual Ditch since the lowest part of the ditch is 10 to 20 feet above the highest part of the land surface to be mined (see Pre-Mining Map Exhibit C and Mining Plan Map Exhibit C-l). The Division has answered in numbers 2 and 4 of the Addendum to the Rationale (see above) how the operator has limited the dewatering activities to protect other groundwater users with wells in the vicinity of the operation.