2008-06-16_ENFORCEMENT - M1980252

• Permit No: M1980252
• IBM Index Class Name: Enforcement
• Doc Date: 6/16/2008
• Doc Name: RTB Ltr
• From: DRMS
• To: Park County Road and Bridge
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY
Department of Natural Resources .
1313 Sherman St., Room 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
June 16, 2008
Mr. Jim Lynn

COLORADO
D IV IS I ON OF
RECLAMATION
MINING
SAFETY
Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
Harris D. Sherman
Executive Director
Park County Road and Bridge Ronald W. Cattany
P.O. Box 147 Division Director
Fairplay, CO 80440 Natural Resource Trustee
RE: Reason to Believe a Violation Exists at the Jefferson Flat Pit DMG File # M-1980-252
Dear Mr. Lynn:
On July 24, 2007 the Division of Reclamation, Mining, & Safety (Division) inspected the Jefferson
Flat Pit in Park County and found that a large portion of the active pit contained standing water.
This was also cited in one or more previous inspection reports conducted in 2001 and 2006. The
permit for this site does not include provisions for the exposure of ground water.
Division specialists again visited the site on June 4, 2008 and discovered substantial quantities of
standing water in the pit. There had been questions regarding whether the water in the pit was
actually ground water, or was perhaps precipitation runoff or snowmelt. According to data
published online by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration
(http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cizi-bin/roman/meso base.cgi?stn=KSHC2&time=GMT), there had been
no measurable precipitation at nearby Kenosha Pass for the preceding eight days, and only
approximately 1/4 inch of precipitation in the preceding three weeks. Therefore, due to the small
amounts of precipitation at the site over the past several weeks, together with the fact that only
minor amounts of snow remain at the site, the Division has concluded that the water must be
exposed ground water.
The Division believes that this is a violation of C.R.S. 34-32.5-116(4)(h) and Rule 3.6.1(1) of the
Mineral Rules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for the Extraction
of Construction Materials, for failure to minimize disturbances to the prevailing hydrologic
balance of the affected land and of the surrounding area and to the quality and quantity of
water in surface and groundwater systems. Therefore, we have reason to believe that a violation
exists to Division File Number M-1980-252 and to the Law, and have scheduled this matter to
appear before the Mined Land Reclamation Board.
A Formal Public Hearing will be held during the August 13-14, 2008 Board meeting for
consideration of a possible violation. The hearing will be held in Room 318 of 1313 Sherman
Street, Denver, Colorado beginning at 9:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be
considered. At that hearing you will have the opportunity to be represented and heard. It will be
reiterated that there is reason to believe that you are in violation of the provisions noted above. You
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