2010-02-22_HYDROLOGY - M1977522 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES ese DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES February 19, 2010 Mr. Jared Dains, E.I. Applegate Group, Inc. 1499 West 1201 Avenue, Suite 200 Denver, Colorado 80234-2759 RE: Substitute Water Su I Plan, Felt Pit, DRMS-M-77-522 Section 26, T6N, R66W, 6th P.M. Water Division 1, Water District 3, Weld County Approval Period: November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2010 Contact Phone Number for Mr. Dains: 303-452-6611 Dear Mr. Dains: Bill Ritter, Jr. Governor James B. Martin Executive Director Dick Wolfe, P.E. Director/State Engineer We have reviewed your letter of September 15, 2009 requesting renewal of the above referenced substitute water supply plan ("SWSP") for an existing sand and gravel operation. The required fee of $257.00 for the renewal of this substitute supply plan has been submitted. The original supply plan was approved on August 8, 2000 and it was most recently approved in a letter dated January 27, 2009. Plan Operations The total surface area of the groundwater exposed at the site equals 40.2 acres (26.4 acres at the West Pit and 13.8 acres at the East Pit). According to the information submitted, 34.1 acres of ground water was exposed after December 31, 1980 and 6.1 acres of ground water was exposed within the reclamation permit boundary prior to January 1, 1981. The previous SWSP approval letter indicated that the Feit Pit would be dewatered from April though October to allow dry mining and the pits would be allowed to fill from November through March. You have indicated that due to poor economic conditions, the Applicant did not dewater or mine as planned; therefore, the ponds remained full during the entire 2009 water year. Additionally, the 2.8125 shares of Greeley Canal #3 proposed to be used as replacement water in the previous SWSP were not used as replacement water during the 2009 water year. Your letter indicates the Applicant sold the shares in January 2009 in order to remain in business. For the term of this plan, your letter indicates depletions at the Feit Pit site will be replaced by augmentation water leased from Platte River Power Authority and the Graham Drainage Ditch Company. Depletions Consumptive uses at the Feit Pit consist of evaporative and operational losses. The estimated lagged stream depletions for the term of this plan are 98.06 acre-feet per year. 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 Office of the State Engineer 1313 Sherman Street, Suite 818 • Denver, CO 80203 • Phone: 303-866-3581 • Fax: 303-866-358 ? r:. www.waterstate.co.us' H 2 2 >!li i DIVIsion of rieciaEiu. WROng and Safety