2012-03-05_REVISION - M1977300

• Permit No: M1977300
• IBM Index Class Name: REVISION
• Doc Date: 3/5/2012
• Doc Name: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PLAN
• From: COTTER
• To: DRMS
• Type & Sequence: AM2
• Email Name: AJW
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Carter
VIA EMAIL AND U.S. MAIL
March 1, 2012
\b Mr. Anthony J. Waldron
Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman St., Room 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Re: Schwartzwalder Mine, Permit No. M- 1977 -300 V
Permit Amendment AM -02, Environmental Protection Plan (EPP)
Dear Mr. Waldron:
RECEIVED
V/ MAR �
Division of Reclamation,
Mining & Safety
This letter responds to your January 30, 2012 letter to Randy Whicker of Cotter Corporation (N.S.L.)
( "Cotter ") regarding the two options and additional action regarding AM -02 that you describe in your
letter.
With respect to your position about the Denver District Court decision, the August 15, 2011 letter
from the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety ( "DRMS ") stated that "the Division is hereby
suspending the AM02 /EPP adequacy review process indefinitely until such time that the issues under
litigation have been resolved." The litigation has not been resolved, and is now before the Court of
Appeals. Cotter is not waiving any position it has advanced during the administrative or District
Court litigation and will advance before the Court of Appeals. The same rationale that resulted in
suspension of the AM- 02/EPP would apply during the litigation before the Court of Appeals. If the
Court of Appeals reverses part or all of the August 11, 2010 Order ( "Order "), Cotter reserves the
right to withdraw the plans submitted that relate to the Order.
With respect to the two options presented in your January 30, 2012 letter, Cotter will pursue
Option A, with the hope that a new permit amendment application process will resolve the items
described in Attachment A to the January 30, 2012 letter ( "Attachment A "). Cotter does not agree
with how some of the items in Attachment A are phrased. An example is item 6, which refers only to
off -site disposal of the alluvial source material. Cotter has presented substantial technical
information to DRMS to support disposal of source term materials within the Schwartzwalder Mine,
and Cotter has received no technical response to this information.
On September 17, 2010, Cotter submitted a Technical Revision Request ( "TR -14 ") for identification
and characterization of any source term materials within the alluvial fill. TR -14 included an analysis
of the "toxic forming" properties of any such source term materials along with an assessment of their
disposal in the mine workings from which they originated (via the Minnesota portal). Depending on
the outcome of the assessment, Cotter advised DRMS that it would submit a technical revision
request for approval to dispose of such source term materials in the Minnesota portal or would
propose alternatives for disposal of that material. The September 28, 2010 DRMS adequacy review
did not comment on these aspects of TR -14. Cotter's October 4, 2010 responses to DRMS'
September 28, 2010 adequacy review continued to state that Cotter would assess disposal in the
Cotter Corporation Telephone [phone]
Canon City Mill, P.O. Box 1750, Canon City, CO 81215 -1750 USA Fax [phone]