1999-11-24_PERMIT FILE - M1999051

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AmerAlia, Inc. November 23, 1999 Mr. Allen C. Sorenson Reclamation Specialist Division of Minerals and Geology 1313 Sherman St.,Rm 215 Denver CO 80203 RE: Technical Revision and Response to Adequacy Comments, Rock School Lease Experimental Nahcolite Mine Project,File No. M-99-051 Dear Allen: This Technical Revision transmits our response to your June 18 and 24, 1999, letters requesting more information to make our 112 permit application for the Rock School Lease Experimental Nahcolite Mine Project(Project)complete. Our responses follow the numbered items in those letters. This Technical Revision also includes information developed through multi-agency contacts since your June 18 and 24 letters and addresses comments in your September 27, 1999, letter. Due to requests from the Bureau of Land Management(administrator of the surface and mineral resources of the Lease)and our efforts to reduce the potential for environmental damage,the Project has been modified from our original application. The final configuration of the Project is depicted on Revised Figure C-1 enclosed as Attachment 1 with this letter. The changes are listed below: A. The property boundary has been modified to allow access across Marathon Oil property from Rio Blanco County Road 24. This modification adds approximately 0.5 acres to the permit area. The new access area is sagebrush vegetation type and Havre loam soil mapping unit. The number of acres to be disturbed does not change as a result of this modification(see Attachment 2). B. The process and evaporation ponds have been removed. The 3-acre process pond has been replaced with a tank and a curbed area six-inches high within the plant building which would retain any solution spilled within the plant. The 7- acre evaporation pond has been replaced with an evaporator. C. The plant site has been reduced in area. E. The topsoil stockpile and water supply well which were originally adjacent to the plant site have been relocated out of the old growth pinyon/juniper trees. The topsoil stockpile is northwest of the plant site in an area with more sagebrush. The water supply well is near the production well field where it will also serve as an A-Groove monitoring well. A construction staging area(which was previously in the plant site)has been added near the topsoil stockpile in the sagebrush. The area will serve as equipment lay down and storage during operation. F.-The access road has been realigned near the plant site. CORPORATE OFFICE 1 OPERATIONS 311 RALEIGH ROAD 818 TAUGHENBAUGH BLVD.,P.O.BOX 1330 KENILWORTH,IL 60043 RIFLE,CO 81650 (847)256-9021 (TELEPHONE) (970)625-9134(TELEPHONE) (847)251-7916(FAX) (970)625-9137(FAX)