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r -~ San J~n County Mining ~enture ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ r Sunnyside Mine '' Washington Mining Co. -Operator P.O.Bo:177 Silverton, CO 81433 (Ph. 303-387-5533 FAX 387-5310) March 27, 19Fi9 Ms. Sandy Marek Water Quality Control Division Colorado Department of Health Denver, CO 80220 Re: REVISION to March 14, 1989 letter "Reported Spill at Mayflower Mill, March 3, 1989" (Please note that the only chanages made are the date of the Reported Spill.) Dear Ms. Marek: This letter .is a written report on the spill reported by telephone February 28, 1989. The site of the spill was Tailings Pond #3, orhich is inactive except for use as: a spill containment structure for the tailings transport line and pump; and a sludge disposal site for solids generated from American Tunne] and Terry Tunnel water treatment. In chronological order the following events took place (times are approximate): February 28, 1989 15:40 Joe Todeschi, Mill Superintendent, was travelin~3 between the mill and the office in Silverton and saw a grayish flow coming off the Tailings Pond #3 and into the ditch along Hwy. I10. He assumed it was caused by the pump box located by Tailings Pond #3 overflowing and not being contained in Pond #3 as should be the case. He went to Tailings Pond #4 and instructed the pond crew to put the tailings system on direct bypass into Pond #4 (instead of through the cyclonal. This would decrease the pressure required from the tailir~gs pump and increase capacity of the system. He assumed the system was being overloaded by runoff water being pumped into the tailings system for transport to Tailings Pond #4. He then proceeded to the office :ln Silverton to call the mill and instruct a crew to bring a loader to tailings pond #3 to work on diverting the ~ flow back into Pond #3.