2009-11-03_HYDROLOGY - M1977036

• Permit No: M1977036
• IBM Index Class Name: HYDROLOGY
• Doc Date: 11/3/2009
• Doc Name: Substitute Water Supply Plan
• From: OSE
• To: Applegate Group, Inc.
• Permit Index Doc Type: Hydrology Report
• Email Name: JLE
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
Bill Ritter, Jr.
October 29, 2009 Governor
Harris D. Sherman
Executive Director
Dick Wolfe, P.E.
Director/State Engineer
Ms. Sira Sartori
pplegate Group, Inc.
1499 West 120th Ave., Suite 200
Denver, CO 80233
Re: Greele 35th Avenue Pit, M-77-036
Substitute Water Supply Plan y ( )
Section 34 & 35, T6N, R66W, Sixth. P.M.
Water Division 1, Water District 3
Approval Period: November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2010
Contact Phone Number for Ms. Sira Sartori: 303-452-6611
Dear Ms. Sartori:
Your letter dated October 2, 2009, requesting renewal of the above referenced
substitute water supply plan ("SWSP") to cover depletions caused by an existing gravel mining
operation has been reviewed. The required fee of $257 for the renewal of this substitute water
supply plan has been submitted. The original plan was approved on February 12, 1992. The
Greeley 35th Avenue Pit was previously included in the Lafarge's Middle Poudre Combined
Plan. The Middle Poudre Combined Plan was most recently renewed on March 17, 2009.
SWSP Operations and Depletions
The Greeley 35th Avenue Pit is located in Sections 34 and 35, Township 6 North, Range
66 West of the 6th P.M. Lafarge West Inc. ("Lafarge") is in a process to amend the Division of
Reclamation Mining and Safety ( DRMS) permit boundary, to include an additional 12.4 acres,
referred to as the Brown Property. Mining at the Brown Property will not begin until the DRMS
has approved the amendment for M1977-036. Therefore there will be no mining depletions on
the Brown Property during the period of this SWSP. The depletions that result from the mining
operation at the Greeley 35th Avenue Pit are evaporation from exposed surface area, water lost
in mined product, dust control and water used in concrete production. Lafarge will replace all
depletions during the period of this SWSP, using a lease with the City of Greeley.
The total exposed pond surface area at this site is 72.3 acres. According to the
information from the previous plan, a total of 52 acres of pond surface was exposed within the
Greeley 35th Avenue Pit reclamation permit boundary prior to January 1, 1981. Based on the
Division 1 Water Court decision in case no. 2009CW49, the replacement of evaporative depletions
is not required for ground water exposed to the atmosphere prior to January 1, 1981 through open
mining of sand and gravel, regardless of whether open mining operations continued or were
reactivated on or after that date. The Water Court effectively held that Senate Bill 120 of 1989, as
amended in Senate Bill 93-260, exempted all pre-1981 exposed ground water regardless of whether
open mining operations continued or were reactivated on or after January 1, 1981. Accordingly, for
the 72.3 acres (52 acres exposed prior to January 1, 1981 and 20.3 exposed after December 31,
1980) of ground water currently exposed at the Greeley 35th Avenue Pit, replacement of
evaporative depletions is only required from the 20.3 acres exposed after December 31, 1980.
Office of the State Engineer
1313 Sherman Street, Suite 818 • Denver, CO 80203 • Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
www.water.state.co.us