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iii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii <br />- ~ 999 <br />~~; ~ ~~ STATE OF COLORADO <br />•c\v;~:•~ Roy Romer, Governor <br />~-- <br />~ /B96 • <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br />MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVISION I~"~' <br />FRED R. BANTA, Director \~. <br />January 23, 1989 <br />Mr, i•lichael Kolin <br />Environmental Coordinator <br />Wyoming Fuels Company <br />141 Union Boulevard, Suite 400 <br />P.O. Box 15596 <br />Lakewood, Colorado 80215 <br />RE: 1987 Annual Hydrology Report, New Elk/Golden Eagle Mines <br />(C-81-012 and C-81-013) <br />Dear htr. Kol i n: <br />~ l~1' <br />i have reviewed the above-referenced Hydrologic Report, and have found the <br />mines to be in compliance with stipulation 12 for New Elk and stipulation 10 <br />for Golden Eagle. The Report was well-organized and easy to follow. Although <br />the mines are affecting local water quality, impacts beyond the permit areas <br />are unlikely. Quantity of flow in the Purgatoire River, and the associated <br />water level in the alluvium, appear unaffected by mining, <br />The quality of surface water at monitoring station PRS-2 has degraded slightly <br />(Conductivity, SAR, Sodium and Bicarbonate levels have edged upl, but is still <br />very good. Station PRS-3, just inside the eastern (downstream) permit <br />boundary, experienced no decline in water quality in 1986. Sampling from <br />point CCS-2, in Ciruela Canyon, exceeds drinking water standards for Total <br />Dissolved Solids, and the Sodium Absorption Ratio of 10,6 rates a "Medium" <br />salinity hazard for irrigation water. This is likely due to discharge of mine <br />water upstream at MDGE-1. In any event the effect is local, as dilution by <br />Purgatoire River water would account for the lower levels at PRS-3. <br />Alluvial groundwater associated with the Purgatoire is of slightly lower <br />quality than the surface water, and PAW-2 and PAW-3 show TDS levels slightly <br />above drinking water standards. PAW-6 appears to be experiencing unnaturally <br />high levels of dissolved iron and manganese. The report attributes this to <br />mine water discharge at MDGE-l, however_ this does not appear likely. Effluent <br />from MDGE-1 is within acceptable limits for manganese, and its maximum <br />dissolved iron concentration is 1.34 mg/1. Samples from PAl•1-6 reach dissolved <br />iron levels of 36 mg/1 in 1986, which is 120 times the standard, and .99 ma/1 <br />manganese, 20 times the standard. In 1986, levels of dissolved iron in PAW-6 <br />samples peaked at 204 mg/1. If anything, the MDGE-1 discharge would be <br />diluted upon entering the Purgatoire alluvium. Although dissolved iron is <br />occasionally high in the other alluvial wells (PAW-l through PAW-5), PAW-6 <br />levels are over 100 times higher. Does Wyoming Fuels Company have any other <br />explanation for the high iron levels? Is there a maintenance problem <br /><^'5 Cemen niai Scalding, 7313 She ^nen Street ^?raver .r)Clc redo 80203-22'? T°' ___ _ _ ~-_-5 <br />