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were installed. The shallowest groundwater detected in these wells is in the newest well and is at <br />10.1 feet below ground surface. The remainder of the wells contain water levels of 14 feet 11 <br />inches, or deeper. The monitoring wells at the site are oriented in a way that appears to give a <br />reasonably accurate depiction of the groundwater regime at the site. From the groundwater level <br />data submitted to the Division, the shallowest water levels are located in the northwestern most <br />corner of the site. Groundwater level abruptly drops to depths in excess of 14 feet approximately <br />1,000 feet from the northwest corner of the site. <br />The Applicant has also stated that the Operator will contain storm water onsite for up to 72 hours to <br />prevent runoff from the site. The Operator will not be storing any fuels onsite, therefore avoiding <br />the possibility of a spill or leak. The process water used at the cement plant will contain only fines <br />resulting from washing of the aggregate removed from the excavation. Therefore if any process <br />water is allowed to percolate into the ground, the fines contained in the water are essentially the <br />same material as that which is being excavated from the site. <br />The Applicant has identified groundwater wells within 200 feet of the site. These wells and other <br />wells in the area are drilled into an aquifer ranging from 100 to 260 feet. Therefore, these wells <br />appear to be tapping an aquifer deeper than the alluvial aquifer, above which the proposed gravel <br />operation is situated, and should not be affected by the operation. <br />The Applicant has supplied copies of FEMA maps to the Division depicting the flood risk at the <br />site, and, according to these maps, there is no predicted flood hazard to the site from any nearby <br />water way. <br />The Operator plans to obtain water for processing and for dust control from a well onsite. No water <br />will be diverted or acquired from the river for the operation. The Office of the State Engineer <br />responded to the notice of this permit application and indicated that it acknowledges that <br />groundwater will not be exposed during the operation. <br />Division Comment <br />The Division accepts that the proposed operation poses little to no risk to the groundwater and <br />surface water at and around the site. The newly submitted water level data, including the new well, <br />indicates that mining to depths of 10 feet risk the exposure of groundwater in the northern portion of <br />the site. The Operator does not plan to expose groundwater in his mining plan. The mining plan <br />does not propose to store any hazardous materials onsite, thus eliminating the possibility of a spill or <br />leak that could threaten groundwater quality. Process water that maybe allowed to percolate into <br />the ground will contain only fines from the native material excavated from the site. The operation is <br />far enough removed from the Middle Fork of the South Platte River to be of no threat to water <br />quality in the river and to not be at risk, according to the FEMA maps, of flooding from the river. <br />The water supply for the operation will have no impacts to the Middle Fork of the South Platte River <br />in that water for the operation and for dust control is to come from a groundwater well onsite. The <br />well onsite will be registered with the Office of the State Engineer and will be approved for the <br />amount of water needed from that well prior to use. <br />The Division proposes the following stipulation based on the data from the monitoring wells that <br />was submitted to the Division. Operations in the northern portion of the site from MH-4 to the <br />