REP28260 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

., ,. STATE OF COLORADO 1313 Sherman iL. Room 21 5 Denver. Colorado AO'_07 Phone: 003) R66-3i6i FAX: 0031 832-9106 Mr Dan Bear Bear Coal Company P.O. Box 1754 Paonia CO 81428-1754 2 March 2000 The Division has reviewed the 1998 Annual Hydrology Report (AHR) from the Beaz Coal Company, Beaz No. 3 Mine. We have several comments and concerns from this report. The first issue is the sampling as per the current water monitoring plan. The plan was not followed exactly because the down-gradient alluvial groundwater well, destroyed by the landslide in 1997, has not yet been reinstalled. This must be replace in order to maintain compliance. DIVISION O F MINERALS GEOLOGY R E C L A M A T I O N f11NING•SAFETY B~II Owens Governor Greg E. bvalcher Erecwive Director Michael 8. Long Drvivon D~~e The second issue involves the most recent revision of the probable hydrologic consequences (PHC) section of the permit, attributing elevated salinity in the alluvial groundwater (as measured in well AA-1, the one that needs replaced) to water percolating through the coal stockpile. Since the coal stockpile no longer exists, continued monitoring of the down-gradient alluvial well will demonstrate if this was the case. The water from the Edwards Portal spring displays an unusual hydrochemistry which may have been appearing in the water in well AA-1 before that well was destroyed. There appeazs to be some evidence that the alluvial groundwater down-gradient of the slide area has been affected by this spring water, some of which i~ltrates directly to the alluvium, and some of which breaks the surface as a spring. The timing of the change in alluvial water chemistry in AA-1 may indicate the actual time that discharge started from that source of the spring water. The total dissolved solids (TDS) content in the up-gradient alluvial groundwater well, which experienced a lazge spike in 1996, appeazs to have returned to more normal conditions. A review of the receiving stream standazds published by the Colorado Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) shows that the discharge from the Edwards Portal spring may come close to violating the limits for some analytes in the North Fork of the Gunnison River at low flow periods. The Beaz III Annual Hydrology Report uses several very conservative assumptions in assessing the mine's impact on the North Fork. The assumptions are a dischazge of 50 gpm from the mine and a low flow in the river of 25 cfs. For several analytes for which standazds exist for the North Fork of the Gunnison, the limit on what can be discharged from the Beaz III mine would be low enough to cause some concern about impact from the Edwazds Portal spring. These are the metals copper, selenium, and zinc. DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Depanment of Natural Resources A fourth analyte, boron, is of concern because it is specifically discussed in the Division's material damage assessment document. Boron in excessive amounts is known to have deleterious effects on fruit crops, a major component of the agricultural production from lands