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~N-2297 WED 0228 AM MCC/WEST ELK MINE FAX N0. 9709295595 <br />Mountain Coal Company <br />West Elk Mine <br />Post Office Box 591 <br />Somen:et, Coloratlo 81634 <br />Telephone 970 929-6015 <br />Fax 970 929-5595 <br />January 21, 1997 <br />Ms. Kathleetr Sullivan <br />Water Quality Control Division <br />Colorado Department of Public Health <br />and the Environment <br />4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, B-2 <br />Denver, CO 80222-1530 <br />12E: Mountain Coal Company; West Elk Mine <br />Deaz Ms. Sullivan: <br />P, 02 <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />sss <br /> <br />As you know, from our conversation this morning between you, Jon Kubic and Bob Shuckle <br />representing the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) and myself, Henry Barbe, and Paige <br />Seville representing Mountain Coal Company (MCC), last night at approximately 10:30 p.m- <br />MCC experienced an inflow in the 1 Southeast Headgate (1 SEHG) that is flowing at <br />approximately 7,500 gpm. Although there were no injuries, several pieces of cntcial mine <br />equipment were lost as a result of the inflow. Based on available information, MCC has <br />determined that this fault system which is producing the current inflow is not the same fault <br />system that caused the previous inflows- <br />At this time, MCC is constructing seals in the 1 SEHG to contain the water as much as possible. <br />We are also setting pumps and pipe in this area to pump some of the water out of the mine and <br />some to a sealed sump area in the mine. At this time MCC is able to pump approximately 3,500 <br />gpm out of the mine and approximately 850 gpm to the sealed area the remainder will continue <br />to flood the mine until sufficient pumps and pipes are installed to either pump it out of the mine <br />and/or to sumps in the mine. Water that is pumped out of the mine will be sent to pond MB-1- <br />As you are aware, the WQCD approved the direct dischazge of fault water to the emergency <br />spillway of MB-1 eazly last yeaz, hence, if necessary, some water may be pumped directly to the <br />emergency spillway of MB-1. We expect that we will begin discharging MB-1 on Wednesday, <br />January 22, 1997- <br />Eazlier today, we collected upstream and downstream water quality samples on the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River- As we discussed, we play to continue to collect water quality samples from <br />the North Fork of the Gunnison River and the MB-1 discharge at least twice per day- In addition, <br />we will conduct WET tests on samples from each location twice per day. <br />