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Although Mr. Bird's opinion at the time of the hearing was that there is no <br />direct evidence that the mine pool was contributing uranium to the creek, he <br />also testified it may already be seeping now and that in any event mine pool <br />contribution was inevitable because of the hydraulic gradient of the pool toward <br />the creek. See e.g., R:00902, 01001 -1002, 01015. <br />Mr. Bird also testified that this Mine can create a lot of water. During the <br />time Cotter was dewatering, up to 600 gallons per minute of ground water were <br />flowing into the Mine, which is a substantial amount of water for the foothills. <br />R:00886. Thus, the Min has potential to send a "good volume of water out of it" <br />downgradient from the Mine. R:00887, 01010. Mr. Bird calculated that even a <br />half a gallon per minute <br />of the mine pool flowing into Ralston Creek would be <br />enough to raise the uranium concentration in the creek to the drinking water <br />standard, with any more <br />further testified, specific <br />than that exceeding the standard. R:00889. He <br />to Cotter's claims of low permeability of the Mine, that <br />Cotter's own April EPP shows a hydraulic conductivity of sandstone, which in <br />general is not an impermeable rock. R:01009 -1010; see also EPP at R:00064. <br />In addition, Mr. Bifrd testified that the downward trend of the uranium in <br />the mine pool Cotter asserts (R:000956 -959) would (1) based on Cotter's <br />1. <br />calculations, take 17 yeas to get to the applicable standard for uranium; (2) by <br />the Division's calculation take 34 years assuming the trend stays the way it is, <br />20 <br />