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NEW ELK COAL COMPANY, LLC <br />122 WEST FIRST STREET <br />5? 0"r?? <br />CVO ?op9 <br />October 21, 2009 <br />TRINIDAD, CO 81082 <br />Telephone: 719-845-0095 <br />Facsimile: 719-845-0070 <br />Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment <br />Water Quality Control Division <br />WQCD-PE-B2 <br />4300 Cherry Creek Drive South <br />Denver, Colorado 80246-1530 <br />Re: Discharge Monitoring Report - 3`d Quarter, 2009 <br />New Elk Mine - Permit No. CO-0000906 <br />Enclosed are the DMRs for the above referenced permit for the Third Quarter of 2009. <br />Pumping of mine water continued during the third quarter 2009 with discharge only <br />through outfall 001. Pumping in August 2009 continued at or below the Tier II allowable <br />rate of discharge and averaged 690 GPM (0.994 MGD). Pumping was further reduced <br />after July 25, 2009 due to sodium levels from July samples (700 mg/l average). After <br />July 25, discharge was limited to less than 200 gpm (0.29 MGD) by reducing pumping to <br />less than 8 hours per day. Actual average monthly discharge for August and September <br />was 0.242 MGD. During this period sodium averaged 949 mg/l in August and 860 mg/l <br />in September both within Tier III limitations. <br />New Elk Coal Company requests a waiver of the sodium limitation for the first month of <br />the third Quarter of 2009. The increased sodium concentrations were not expected nor <br />supported by the historical information available to New Elk regarding New Elk mine <br />water. Further, the sodium limitation is based on the mean annual stream flow and actual <br />rate of discharge was below the maximum Tier II limitation. Further, this minor <br />excedence occurred during a period of higher monthly stream flows in the Purgatoire <br />River, thus mitigating the potential impact of elevated sodium concentrations. <br />