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~'` " MINREC, INC. III'll'll~ll'III'll 2768 COMPASS DRIVE, SUITE 101 GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO 81506 PHONE: (303) 245-4101, FAX 242-7908 NORTH THOMPSON CREEK MINES ~ August 14, 1992 ° ~~V~~~~ AUG 17 ]992 Ellen Sassano Pitkin County Planning Department DIVISION OF 130 So. Galena Street MINERALS8 GEOLOGY Aspen, CO 81611 Re: Special Use Permit Resolution Nos. 85-71 & 86-12 By letter dated August 9, 1989 Snowmass Coal Company advised Pitkin County that it intended to transfer its rights and obligations under the referenced special use permit to a third party. The letter also stated that it was the understanding of both Pitkin County and Snowmass Coal Company that the permit was either no longer necessary or considered dormant. By dated February 15, 1990, Snowmass Coal Company advised Pitkin County that the permit had been transferred to Minrec, Inc. The mine sites which are located in Pitkin County were reclaimed during 1986 and 1987. The reclamation was designed to restore the land surface to unimproved rangeland. The Mined Land Reclamation Division defines rangeland as "land on which plant cover is principally valuable for forage. Except for brush control, management is primarily achieved by regulating the intensity of grazing and season of use". During 1988, water within the mine reached the level of the portals and started leaking from them. A series of three ponds were constructed to allow iron to settle from the water prior to it being discharged into North Thompson Creek. The ponds which are shown on Drawing D-2-5a are referred to as the long pond and treatment ponds T-1 and T-2. The mine water treatment ponds will remain in place for many years. For this reason, Minrec has asked the Mined Land Reclamation Division to amend the postmining land use for the mine sites. The No. 1 Mine Site will have two postmining land uses. One will be unimproved range and explained above. The other postmining land use for the water treatment system will be developed water resources. The Mined Land Reclamation Division defines developed water resources "as use of land for storing water for beneficial uses such as stockponds, irrigation, fire protection, flood control and water supply". The treatment ponds could be considered both treatment ponds and stockponds. Therefore the land owner will realize a beneficial use of the treatment system because it will have a reliable source of water for its cattle operation. Wildlife such as deer and elk, which seasonally use the mine site also benefit from the ponds.