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PREFACE <br />OVERVIEW <br />Cotter Corporation (N.S.L.)'s Response to December 14, 2010 Adequacy Review, <br />Comment 1(A) <br />May 10, 2011 <br />Cotter Corporation, (N.S.L.) ( "Cotter ") has appealed the August 11, 2010 Board Order, which is <br />under judicial review. Cotter's positions with respect to Corrective Action No. 2 -- to <br />"[r]einitiate mine dewatering and water discharge treatment sufficient to bring the mine water <br />table to a level at least 500 feet below the Steve Level, and sufficient to reestablish a hydraulic <br />gradient away from Ralston Creek" -- are set forth in Cotter's pleadings and evidence in <br />connection with the May 21, 2010 and September 16, 2010 Notices of a Reason to Believe a <br />Violation Exists at the Schwartzwalder Mine and in Cotter's complaints and briefs filed in its <br />appeals of the August 11, 2010, and December 8, 2010 Board Orders. Cotter's positions include, <br />without limitation, that Corrective Action No. 2 does not meet the definition of a Technical <br />Revision under Hard Rock/Metal Mining Rule 1, § 1.1(52) as a "change in a permit or an <br />application, which does not have more than a minor effect upon the approved or proposed <br />Reclamation or Environmental Protection Plan." Corrective Action No. 2 would have a major <br />effect on the proposed Environmental Protection Plan. <br />In addition to the positions set forth in Cotter's evidence, pleadings, and briefs, Cotter responds <br />to the requests in Item 1(A) as follows: <br />This document is submitted in response to Item 1(A) (and respective sub - items) as contained in <br />the Division's Adequacy Review. <br />Cotter, DRMS, MLRB, the Water Quality Control Division ( "WQCD ") and Denver Water each <br />share a common remedial objective at the Schwartzwalder Mine site, which is to effectively and <br />permanently protect water quality in Ralston Creek. Implicit in this common objective is a need <br />to achieve this remedial outcome in the shortest time frame possible. The necessary components <br />of this overall objective include mitigation of any impacts from mine pool water in the short <br />term, and appropriate long -term management of mine pool water to protect water quality in <br />Ralston Creek. The strategies for addressing the mine pool should be based on accepted <br />principles for evaluation of remedial alternatives, which in this case would include optimization <br />in accordance with the following fundamental remedial criteria ( "Criteria "): <br />1. Quantitative Effectiveness: Consistently and permanently meet all applicable water <br />quality standards in Ralston Creek, with particular emphasis on the uranium standard <br />(0.03 mg /L) as this is the only parameter that exceeds the applicable water quality <br />standards due to impacts from the mine site. <br />2. Sustainability: Maximize long -term sustainability through cost - effectiveness and <br />minimization of long -term burdens to future generations and any indirect costs to society. <br />3. Minimize Health Risks: Minimize overall potential risks to public health, including <br />those related to water quality in the creek and those directly or indirectly associated with <br />1 <br />