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~ ~66ow~~ Chem~ca~i/ • III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 999 90 East Halsey Road Parsippany, A'J 070>i Tel: 973~i I i~0900 May 28, 1999 ~a Federal Fxpress and Fax Mr. Allen Sorenson Reclamation Specialist (~ : Division of Minerals and GeoloQy 1313 Sherman Street., Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 1?ECEIVED JUi1 0 i 1999 / nvision of Oiinerals & Geology ~o~. N~.~ RE: Adequacy of the Reclamation Application, Yankee Gulch Project, File No. M-99-002 (American Soda) - Third Comment Submittal Dear Mr. Sorenson: Thank you for the opportunity to supplement and continue our review of the filings provided by American Soda in response to the Rules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, and to the adequacy letters provided by the Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG). As we will explain below, each additional filing has served to increase our concerns about the merits of the permit application. Further, certain apparent adequacies in such documents as the BLM Draft Environmental Impact Statement have given rise to an independent concern that the information available for the evaluation of the American Soda project is emerging too slowly to allow for optimal review. We are also confused about why American Soda has not been asked to respond to one of our most important and long-standing concerns, which is the prepazation of adequate baseline for water quality and quantity in advance of the approval of a permit. These concerns notwithstanding, the most recent filing prompts the following comments. The first listed item in the American Soda Adequacy Response of May 13, 1999, recites, among other things, that the Groundwater and Surface Water Monitoring Plan submitted as a technical revision to its application fills one of the most significant gaps in that application. While the candor of the admission deserves applause, the conclusion is indefensible. In support of the claim that American Soda may now be relieved of submitting the baseline data before permit approval, American Soda submits a letter from the Bureau of Land Management to Mr. Nielsen, dated April 26, 1999. In the letter, the BLM asserts that ground water and surface water concerns have been adequately addressed by the Monitoring Plan, and it is therefore approved (by the BLM at least) for the Yankee Gulch Sodium Minerals Project. American Soda's Adequacy Response implicitly concludes that if the Monitoring Plan in its present form is good enough for the federal agencies listed in the letter, it should satisfy the requirements of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act.