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III IIIIIIIIIIIII III STATE OF CO~Oi~DO DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman 81.. Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 Phnne: 13031 856-356: FAX: (30 31 83 281 06 November 16, 1992 Tor. Greg Lewicki, P.E Greg Lewicki And Associates 1645 Court Pi ac e, Suite 309 Denver, Colorado 80202 Re: Settlement Agreements for Notices of Violation C-92 013 & C-92-~14; Trinidad Basin Mines; Permit No. C-81-048 Dear Mr. Lewicki; /M1E~~~A .<rab~A^'s7. -.~~ :'~ ~ /e T6 ~ Rny Rnmer Grn'crnor N KhdP 9. Ln n4 Di. ision Due~mr At your request, I reconvened the assessment conference to review NOV's C-92-013 and C-92-014 at 1:00 pm on Friday, iovember 13, 1992, in our offices. You attended the conference representiny TBM, and Joe Dudash and Dan Mathews representing the Division, in addition to me. Asa result of my deliberations, I had granted a continuance of the conference regarding NOV's C-92-013 and C-92-014 from Friday, September 11, 1992. I upheld NOV's C-92-013 and C-92-014, but modified the recommended penalty assessment for NOV C-92-014, as reflected in the enclosed settlement agreements. You presented an interesting argument in TDh1's defense in response to NOV C-92-014. Very briefly stated, it is your contention that the instantaneous runoff resulting from the unusual precipitation event which lead to the issuance of both violations exceeded the instantaneous runoff which would have resulted from the 2.9 inch, 10 year/24 hour event applicable td the T8M mine site. Therefore, you conclude that TBhI sflould be exempted from the violation, as allowed by our regulations. In support of this contention, you presented detailed precipitation records compiled by an immediate neighbor of the mine, who happens to be an engineer. You also referenced telephone conversations with Prof. Barfield of Oklahoma State, reputed to be a recognized expert in hydrographic analysis and modeling. Unfortunately you could not provide literature references from Prof. Barfield or any other source to support the methodology. Further, the permit incorporated a 25 year precipitation event in the ditch and pond design, which you concur would have been adequate. Enclosed please find proposed settlement agreements for Notices of Violation C-92-013 and C-92-014. If you agree with these settlement agreements, please sign them and return them to our office as instructed on the form. The form must be signed within ten days of the above date. If you disagree with either agreement, do not sign the form. Because both of these violations were issued 120 days ago, the Division is required to fix the civil penalty today. Normally we would wait until your ten day acceptance period had expired and then fix the penalties at the originally proposed amount, if you had not