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Tom Hatton <br />February 14, 2011 <br />Page 5 <br />2010 letter from DRMS requires that you provide information to DRMS to demonstrate <br />you can replace long term injurious stream depletions that result from mining related <br />exposure of ground water. The DRMS letter identifies four approaches to satisfy this <br />requirement. If the information you are providing to DRMS is included under the <br />approaches numbered 1 - 3, a copy of that information needs to also be provided to <br />this office (the Division of Water Resources). <br />If the information you are providing to DRMS is pursuant to approach no. 4, you will <br />need to provide additional documentation to this office that specifies what water <br />rights or other permanent water source will be dedicated to the SWSP to assure that <br />all permanent depletions from either an unforeseen abandonment of the site by the <br />Applicant or as a result of long term ground water exposure after completion of <br />mining and reclamation will be replaced so as to prevent injury to other water rights. <br />This information must be provided to this office by April 30, 2011. If the requested <br />information is not provided to the Division of Water Resources, any future SWSP may <br />limit the mining operation so that additional ground water cannot be exposed, beyond <br />that specified in this SWSP. <br />13. The approval of this substitute water supply plan does not relieve the Applicant and/or the <br />landowner of the requirement to obtain a water court decree approving a permanent plan for <br />augmentation or mitigation to ensure the permanent replacement of all depletions, including <br />long-term evaporation losses and lagged depletions after gravel mining has ceased. NOTE: <br />If reclamation of the mine site produces a permanent water surface exposing groundwater to <br />evaporation, an application for a plan for augmentation must be filed with the Division 1 <br />Water Court at least three (3) years prior to the completion of mining to include, but not be <br />limited to, long-term evaporation losses. If a lined pond results after reclamation, <br />replacement of lagged depletions shall continue until there is no longer an effect on stream <br />flow. Granting of this plan does not imply approval by this office of any such court <br />application(s). . <br />14. In accordance with amendments to § 25-8-202(7), C.R.S., and Senate Bill 89-181 Rules and <br />Regulations adopted on February 4, 1992, the State Engineer shall determine whether the <br />substitute supply is of a quality to meet requirements of use to senior appropriators. As <br />such, water quality data or analysis may be requested at any time to determine if the water <br />quality is appropriate for downstream water users. <br />15. The decision of the state engineer shall have no precedential or evidentiary force, shall not <br />create any presumptions, shift the burden of proof, or serve as a defense in any pending <br />water court case or any other legal action that may be initiated concerning this plan. This <br />decision shall not bind the state engineer to act in a similar manner in any other applications <br />involving other plans, or in any proposed renewal of this plan, and shall not imply <br />concurrence with any findings of fact or conclusions of law contained herein, or with the <br />engineering methodologies used by the Applicant.