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CACMbalCempeany ? Seneca Coal Company <br />April 16, 2009 <br />Colorado Department of Health <br />WQCD-PE-B2 <br />4300 Cherry Creek Drive South <br />Denver, CO 80246-1530 <br />RECEIVED <br />PR 1./ 2.009 <br />p,v,,,,?;, u, nuclamation, <br />Mining and Safety <br />RE: Quarterly Discharge Monitoring Report for Permit CO-0000221 <br />Dear Sir or Madam: <br />Pursuant to the quarterly reporting requirements contained in Colorado <br />Discharge Permit .CO-0000221 for the Seneca Mine Complex, enclosed find <br />the first quarter 2009 discharge monitoring reports for Points 002 to <br />006 and 008 to 017. In this quarter, no discharges were observed at <br />Points 009 and 011. Intermittent flows were observed at Points 005, 013 <br />and 014. <br />Vehicle access to Points 004, 005, 008, 009, 010, 015, 016 and 017 was <br />closed starting in November due to snow. Monthly visits (at all sites <br />except 015) were performed by snowmobile or snowshoe. For Point 015, <br />deep and light snow on this long, narrow road prevented safe access, <br />even with a snowmobile, for the entire quarter. Winter time monitoring <br />exemptions exists for all these sites (CPDS permit, Part I, page 24). <br />One excursion of effluent limits occurred this quarter. On March 4, a <br />total recoverable iron value of 1,370 ug/l was observed at Point 006. <br />The standard listed on the DMR is 1,000 ug/1. However, in August 2008, <br />the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission authorized a temporary <br />modification for the total recoverable iron standard to be set at <br />"existing quality" for Yampa Segment 13d, Dry Creek, to which this <br />Point discharges to. A copy of this document is attached following this <br />cover letter. It is taken from Regulation 33, Classifications and <br />Numeric Standards for Upper Colorado River Basin. Seneca is currently <br />gathering information to provided to the Commission (by May 31, 2011) <br />what "existing quality" is for this stream segment. <br />This excursion was most likely caused by snowmelt runoff. To document <br />this snowmelt, attached are: 1) a photo of the site the day was taken, <br />2) a summary of climatological observations for March 2009 at Steamboat <br />Springs (indicating 17 inches of snow on the ground and a maximum <br />temperature of 55 degrees F on March 4), and 3) a snowpack graph for <br />the nearest Snotel site, Crosho. <br />Please contact me at 970-276-5209 if you have any questions. <br />Seneca Coal Company . P.O. Box 670 a Hayden, Colorado 81639 <br />Telephone (970) 276-5217 . FAX (970) 276-5222