2010-11-16_PERMIT FILE - C1996083A (26)

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STATE OF COLORADO FFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER ision of Water Resources partment of Natural Resources 7373 Sherman Sveet, Room 818 Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone (303) 868-3581 FAX (303) 866-3589 www.water.state.co.us J.E. Stover J.E. Stover & Associates 2768 Compass Dr., Ste 101 Grand Junction, CO 81506 RE: Bowie Mine No. 2 Ponds J & K Substitute Supply Plan SW'/<SE'/< Sections 15, Township 13 South, Range 91 West, 6th P.M., Water Division 4, Water District 40 Dear Mr. Stover: gill Owens Governor Greg E. Walther Executive Director Hal D. Simpson, P.E. State Engineer We have completed review of your request on behalf of Bowie Resources Limited (Bowie) for a substitute water supply plan for Ponds J & K at the Bowie Mine No. 2. The mine is located on an unnamed tributary of the North Fork Gunnison River, which is downstream of Hubbard Creek and upstream of Terror Creek. Two sedimentation ponds (Pond J & K) is to be constructed on-site to capture runoff, in addition to the three existing sedimentation ponds to be augmented per pending Case No. 99CW263. It is assumed that Ponds J ~ K will be operated in the same fashion as the existing ponds, such that the normal water surface will be maintained at the vel of the outlet, and immediately following storm events the water level will be higher, but only for a short ~rior4of time. Filling and evaporation from the ponds must be augmented during times of call. The plan proposes to replace evaporation from the sedimentation ponds with East Beckwith No. 1 Reservoir water. (Note that depending on the river call status at the time, replacement water may also be necessary for the filling of the sedimentation ponds that occurs in the dead storage pool, since this water cannot be released during a call.) Bowie claims a lease of 25% of the 383 acre-foot storage water right remaining of that originally decreed in Case No. 2563, per abandonments in Case Nos. 89CW121 and 92CW57, which amounts to 95.75 acre-feet. Note That in Case No. W-3106, 74 acre-feet of the water leased from the reservoir was changed to industrial, domestic and irrigation use for an augmentation plan decreed therein, and that 8.17 acre-feet is required for augmentation per pending Case No. 99CW263, therefore, 13.58 acre-feet of the leased storage right remains unchanged and is available for use herein. Although Case No. W-3106 required replacement releases at a rate of 1.852 times the diversion amounts from well used to supply water for the Orchard Valley Mine (now known as Bowie Mine No. 1), the decree also stated that "The Division Engineer shall adjust the transportation loss and historic use factor of he deems it necessary to prevent injury..." Therefore, per Case Nos. 97CW 138 and 97CW244, the historic use has been adjusted to 46%, and the transportation loss has been adjusted to 50%, which results in a credit of 0.23 acre-feet for every 1.0 acre-feet of water released from the reservoir. Annual evaporation is estimated at 0.86 acre-feet, as shown in Table A (attached), and is based on a total surface area of 0.325 acres. This corresponds to the total surface area at the level of the pond outlets. The total dead storage capacity is 1.06 acre-feet. Therefore, maximum potential annual depletions are estimated as 1.92 acre-feet. As proposed, depletions are to be replaced at a ratio of 4 acre-foot of releases to 0.23 acre-feet of depletions. Therefore, the maximum potential replacement requirement is 8.35 acre-feet. This leaves 5.23 acre- feetavailable under the lease. This substitute water supply plan is hereby approved pursuant to Section 37-80-120, C.R.S., subject to the ~Ilowing conditions: 1. If written objections to the following conditions are not received by this office and the Division Engineer (Wayne Schieldt, P.O. Box 456, Montrose, CO 81402, telephone 970-249-6622) within 20 days of the receipt of this approval, it will be assumed that the applicant has accepted, and will operate this plan in OF COQ ~~ .:.. ~ H December 26, 2001 $ + o . a ~ rB~e t fR-6 AP>°ROV~ l~rs/o2