Laserfiche WebLink
Executive Summary <br />American Soda, L.L.P. is submitting this 39th Quarterly Ground Water Monitoring <br />Report in compliance with E.P.A. U. I. C. Area Permit C03858-00000 Final <br />Modification No. 9 (March 31, 2005), MLRB Hard Rock Mining Operation Permit <br />No. M-99-002 (Technical Revision No. 4), and U. S. B. L. M. Sodium Lease Nos. <br />C-0118328 and C-0118329 Record of Decision. The data presented in this <br />document represents the time period from April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010. <br />The Piceance processing plant and well field were in temporary suspension of <br />production operations status and no solution mining activity occurred during the <br />report period. <br />The current reporting period hydrologic monitoring program for the Yankee Gulch <br />Sodium Minerals Project includes monitoring of over 60 water quality constituents <br />from up to 23 sampling locations including five separate water bearing zones. <br />Sampling points are positioned up gradient, down gradient, cross gradient, and <br />in-panel in relation to the mining activity. Recording of water elevations and field <br />parameters is completed in conjunction with collection of the water quality <br />samples from each well. As a result of the high solids content of the dissolution <br />aquifer, sampling is only reliably successful at one dissolution sample point. The <br />completion of this well (21-3D) is in the upper portion of the dissolution aquifer <br />where dissolved solids are somewhat less concentrated. Water levels in all three <br />dissolution surface monitoring wells are being manually measured and recorded <br />on a quarterly basis. One down stream private domestic ground water well <br />(BURKE) is also sampled quarterly. <br />Before American Soda commenced mining operations in 2000, fifteen months of <br />baseline ground water data was collected. The current quarter monitoring data <br />for each well is summarized in a two page table per well in this document. Not <br />only is the raw data for the present reporting period included, but also regulatory <br />standards and statistics are shown for comparison and, additionally, baseline and