2008-07-25_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1999025

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.. 0- wl` _ Wester Water & Lmd, Inc. ? _ Q 9 9 - 0 RECEIVED RECEIVED July 24, 2008 AUG 0 4 2008 Mr. Ed Settle Division of Reclamation, JUL 2 5 2008 Grand Junction Pipe and Supply Company Mining and Safety GRAND JUNCTION FIELD,w y 2868 I-70 Business Loop DIVISION OF V RECLAMATION MINING s,t t f Grand Junction, CO 81501 RE: Conceptual Design: Soaring Eagle Gravel Pit Fish Inlet and Outlet Distribution: Mr. Ed Settle, Grand Junction Pipe Mr. Ken Jacobson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers V". Travis Marshall, Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety Mr. Allan Pfister, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mr. Glen Miller Western Water & Land, Inc. (WWL) and Western Engineers (WE), as a result of a meeting held on July 15, 2008, are submitting this letter to summarize the current conceptual design for the fish inlet and outlet for the Soaring Eagle Pit, located near Fruita, Colorado. WWL and WE have prepared the conceptual design after extensive river transect data collection, HEC-RAS model data input, multiple model simulations, and consideration of clarified permit requirements. WWL and WE have considered permit requirements in accordance with permits from the Colorado Division of Mining, Reclamation and Safety (DRMS), the Colorado Department of Public Health an Environment (Water Quality Control Division), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). In addition, comments by Mr. Glen Miller, owner of the island immediately west of the Soaring Eagle Pit, have been reviewed. Permit Elements The key elements of the mining permit are summarized as follows: FWS Final Biological Opinion: 1. The FWS has proposed the inlet and outlet be constructed to provide habitat for endangered fish in the Colorado River. The main premise proposed by the FWS is that a flow-through pit lake will allow gradual reclamation of the pit by sedimentation. This scenario is more favorable than the possibility of a having the pit "dike" naturally breach and form a deep and semi-permanent backwater area. FWS has proposed a conceptual design based on comments by consultants in November of 1998. The conceptual design includes a "Texas Crossing" style inlet (a simple straight channel connection to the river) located at the east end of the pit, and a multiple channel outlet located at the west end of the pit. The channel bottoms will be 2 feet (ft) below the "ordinary high water" mark. The conceptual design may be altered as the design process is implemented. 2. The design of the inlet and outlet will be sufficient to prevent a change in course of the main river channel and maintain the integrity of the existing river channels. Applications in Earth Science 743 )Horizon Court Suite 330, Grand Junction, CO 81506 Phone: (970) 242-0170 Fax: (970) 242-0270