Laserfiche WebLink
mine were submitted to the Office of the State Engineer, Division of Water Resources. The <br />State Engineer's Office has determined that there are no problems with the operation with <br />respect to water rights. Water requirements for the operation and water rights held by the <br />operator are addressed in Sections 2.3.3 and 2.3.3.1 of the application text, and in permit <br />Appendix C. <br />The permit application contains information on water rights in the vicinity of the operation, <br />indicating that no ground water rights (springs or wells) have been adjudicated within a <br />three-mile radius of the permit area. One surface water right is identified (H.G. McClane <br />ditch) along East Salt Creek. It is highly unlikely that this water right will be impacted by the <br />operation. <br />The applicant has secured rights for 10 cfs discharge from the Mack Pumping Pipeline for <br />use at the mine. Total consumptive use projected for the Munger Canyon mining operation, <br />which will use water diverted from the same source, is less than 0.07 cfs. The applicant has <br />demonstrated that rights have been secured to sufficiently satisfy consumptive water use <br />requirements for the operation. <br />The proposed operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. <br />F. Probable Hydrologic Consequences <br />The anticipated impacts of the Munger Canyon Mining operation on the quality and quantity <br />of ground water and surface water in the area are minimal. This is due mainly to the limited <br />extent of underground workings and small area of surface disturbance related to the mine, as <br />well as the characteristics of the ground water environment. <br />The operation has affected approximately 36 acres in the Munger Canyon watershed, with an <br />existing surface disturbance of 15.9 acres and approximately 20 acres of underground <br />workings. There will be no expansion of underground workings, and only very limited <br />additional surface disturbance (construction of low water crossings following culvert <br />removal along the haul road during the final phase of reclamation operations). Compared to <br />the total drainage area in the Munger Canyon watershed (5085 acres), approximately <br />seven-tenths of a percent of the Munger Canyon drainage are impacted by the operation. <br />Although increases in concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended <br />solids (TSS) are expected to result from the disturbance, the areal comparison indicates that <br />the significance of the increases in TDS would be diminished due to dilution, and TSS will <br />be controlled by the sediment pond, small area exemption sediment controls, and <br />stabilization seeding. Furthermore, once the runoff from the Munger watershed reaches the <br />East Salt Creek Valley, the impact would be diminished further. The disturbance due to the <br />portion of the operation situated in Munger Canyon accounts for less than three-hundredths <br />of a percent of the total drainage area of East Salt Creek above the confluence with Munger <br />Canyon (67,223 acres). Disturbance in the East Salt Creek valley proper is inconsequential, <br />limited to the access/haul road that was in existence prior to operations, and was upgraded in <br />1977. <br />27