2012-02-27_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1999120

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Short term - solutions that are being considered: Letter to Dean and Linda Sandstead February 27, 2012 Page 2 of 3 Dean, you said that a report every two weeks was unnecessary, so Matt will report to you on an as- needed basis or as- requested basis. At a minimum, I recommend that Matt provide you with a status update report on a monthly basis unless you instruct us otherwise. We are looking at this situation with an eye to short-term and long -term solutions. We understand that time is of the essence. Our goal is to make sure that no hay crop is lost this season. Matt will proceed on the following basis: • We currently have 13 active monitoring wells positioned around the surrounding property. The wells are recorded monthly and have been in place since May of 2004. The summer and fall of 2011 registered higher than average levels from what was recorded in the previous 8 -year monitoring history, regardless of monitoring well position in relation to the slurry walls that were installed. • Proceeding to the spring of 2012, once the fields have thawed enough for vehicle access, we will begin drilling new monitoring wells. We will incorporate a series of monitoring wells on LGE's property along the south and eastern boundaries of your property. These wells will record the groundwater levels on a monthly basis (at minimum). This monitoring will provide insight as to the effect the groundwater may have on the surface and the potential mounding effects of the installed slurry walls, as well as to help identify the source of the water that saturated the land. • We will have Deere & Ault Consultants begin a cursory review of mitigation methods if it is found that the saturated soils have not subsided and the fields are too wet to cultivate. • Deere & Ault Consultants may have other recommendations once we meet in the field. In addition to the above stated items, LGE will move forward to obtain permission to remove debris and clean up Little Dry Creek this spring and summer. The overgrown willows and decayed matter have reduced the flow over the years; we believe efficient flow is critical to keeping the surrounding groundwater table depressed. Also, LGE will eliminate all irrigation on the Vincent property this coming season. Last year was the first year that the Vincent property was plowed and flood irrigated; with this property up- gradient to the Sandstead property, we are confident there will be a reduction in surface water. And as we discussed, we have trapped and relocated a beaver that was very busy this summer on Little Dry Creek directly east of your house. I realize that you have encountered beavers before with no problems, but we believe Little Dry Creek was forced to handle a lot more csf of water this year than in years past.