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III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII • 999 ROY ROMER Governor OF ~ COQ • Q~` X90 N //~ p r * /876 s OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES 1313 Sherman Street-Room 818 Denver, Colorado 80203 (303)866-3581 FAx[303]866-3589 May 20, 1992 Mr. Alan Leak WRC Engineering, Inc. 1660 S. Albion Street, Suite 500 Denver, CO 80222 HAROLD~HAi.) D. SIIviPSON Acting State Engineer RE: Valco Inc.'s Substitute Water Supply Plans MLRD M77559, M77560, M77572, M77573, M84008 and M86015 Water Division 2 Deaz Alan: The State Engineer's Office is in receipt of your February 14, 1992 letter requesting clarification of Senate Bill 120's (SB 120) grandfather date in rega_*ds to the evaporative depletions on pre-1981 surface acres. We offer the following comments in response to your request. SB 120 allows an exemption from the priority system of depletions associated with evaporation from pre-1981 exposed ground water surface acres resulting from gravel mining operations. Your specific question is "...does SB 120 allow the exposed water surface azea to be moved azound within the given pit with augmentation being required only for exposed water surface azea in excess of the pre-1981 water surface azea?" Section 37-90-137 11(b), C.RS. provides in part that "...no such well permit, plan for augmentation or plan of substirute supply shall be required to replace depletions from evaporation...". You azgue that the intent of this statute was to grandfather depletions. The exposed area is a method of defining the grandfathered depletions. A continuous mining operation within the specified reclamation permit azea which had established a pond azea as of January 1, 1981, may continue mining operations within that permitted area without the need of a well permit nor a plan of augmentation for that amount of associated consumptive use by evaporation, provided there is no deactivation of the operation and the total resultant exposure of ground water within the permitted area does not exceed the azea of exposure as of January 1, 1981. The burden of proof remains with the applicant to accurately document the pre-1981 ground water surface acreage. It is also the responsibility of the applicant to strictly regulate the post-1981 surface acres and submit reports of appropriate data.