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r <br />,~ ~~~ <br />STATE OF COLORADO ~' <br />OFFICE OF THE STATE ENC:INEER F ca <br />Division of Water Resources <br />Deparunent of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman Stree4 Room 818 / <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 // <br />Phone (303) 866-3581 March 21, 2005 <br />FAX (303) 866-3589 <br />www.watecstate.co.us <br />Cheryl Signs, P.E. <br />Cheryl Signs Engineering <br />109 East Fourth Avenue <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />1/ <br />Re: Del Camino (Portion of Pit No. 1 }Substitute Water Supply Plan <br />DMG, File No. M-74-052 .~ <br />NW1/4, Section 31, T3N, R67W, 6`" P.M. <br />Water Division 1, Water District 5, Weld County, Colorado <br />Dear Ms. Signs: <br />0 20~ <br />ye <br />• : <br />w r <br />20 <br />slal6K <br />Bill Owens <br />Governor <br />Russell George <br />Executive Direcror <br />Hal D. simpwn, P.E. <br />Stale Engineer <br />We have reviewed your November 7, 2003, January 25, 2005 and March 3, 2005 <br />request for approval of a substitute water supply plan for that portion of Pit No. 1 (M-74-052) <br />located in the NW1/4 of Section 31, Township 3 North, Range 67 West, owned and operated by <br />Varna Companies, Inc. (Varna) This portion is known as the Del Camino pit. Mining operations <br />are complete at the Del Camino pit and the only consumptive use associated with Del Camino <br />pit site will be from evaporation of exposed groundwater exposed after December 31, 1980. <br />According to the information submitted 53.1 acres were exposed within the reclamation permit <br />boundary prior to January 1, 1981. <br />An application for a substitute water supply plan and a well permit application were <br />submitted in 1990, however because Varna could not locate any winter replacement water the <br />plan was not approved. The Del Camino site has been inactive since 1996 and Varna has been <br />backfilling this site to achieve an exposed area that is equal to or less than the 53.1 acres <br />exposed prior to January 1, 1981. You estimated that approximately 0.7-acre is currently <br />exposed at the site in excess of the pre 1981 exposed area. Therefore the total estimated <br />annual consumptive use is approximately 2.81 acre-feet of evaporative loss. <br />Apparently Varna has met the replacement obligations caused by the evaporation at the <br />Del Camino site, by using the historical credits of the Hayseed Ditch during the irrigation season <br />and leases from the City of Greeley or City of Lafayette during the winter months. In addition, <br />according to the information from the substitute water supply plan approved for the Durham Pit <br />(M78-056), releases from the water stored in the 112-lined pond using the Rural Ditch <br />diversions were also made to cover the net evaporation from the Del Camino site. The proposed <br />source of replacement water for this pit are releases from the water stored in the 112-lined pond <br />using the Rural Ditch diversions or the Hayseed Ditch credits. <br />According to the State Engineer's General Guidelines for Substitute Supply Plans for <br />Sand and Gravel Pits, the applicant is also responsible for replacing the post pumping <br />depletions from the backfilled area. Review of the March 3, 2005 letter revealed that the post <br />Dumping depletions from the backfilled area were not addressed. Please iiientify the distance <br />