REP40359

• Permit No: C1981025
• IBM Index Class Name: Report
• Doc Date: 5/15/1984
• Doc Name: SNOWMASS COAL CO RESPONSE TO WATER RIGHTS ISSUE
• From: SNOWMASS COAL CO
• To: MLR
• Permit Index Doc Type: MINE INFLOW REPORTS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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SNOWMASS COAL COMPANY
Denver Oll~ce~ Suite 2300
410 Seventeenth Street
Denver, Colorado 80202
[phone]
Mine Olhce P.O. Box 980
Carbondale, Colorado 81623
(303) 9633440
May 15, 1984
Mr. Robert Liddle
Reclamation Specialist
Colorado Mined Land Reclamation
1313 Sherman Street, Room 423
Denver, CO. 80203-2273
RE: Snowmass Coal Company's Response
To Water Rights Issue
Dear Mr. Liddle:
Snowmass Coal Company has previously agreed to prepare and file
an augmentation plan covering any injury to other vested water rights
by April 1, 1984. Snowmass is proceeding with this effort, but
delays have occurred due to the lack of correlation in the data
obtained from the mine in-flow studies to date. It is now believed
that data from the weirs being installed in North and Middle Thompson
Creeks will be required prior to Snowmass being able to make defini-
tive calculations regarding the small quantity of water coming into
the Snowmass mines from Middle and North Thompson Creeks, as compared
with the decreed water right from water tributary to the Colorado River.
As Mined Land Reclamation is aware, Snowmass was not allowed to
start installation of the weers at the originally intended time (April,
1983). The Army Carps of Engineers required a 404 permit application
prior to performing any dredge or fill activities in the creeks.
Weir designs were completed and the first weir was operational on
May 10, 1984. On that date, the continuous recorder showed a flow of
77 cfs, or approximately 35,000 GPM. The flow in North Thompson Creek
continued to increase, and, unfortunately, has washed away the fill
on the sides of the weir. Depending on the snowpack melt rate, Snowmass
may or may not be able to refill the washed-out areas in order to meet
the MLR inspection report deadline to have this weir operational by
June 1, 1984.
To date, the mine in-flow studies which have been carried out as
suggested by MLR, indicate that the portion of mine in-flow which could
be coming either from North or Middle Thompson Creek is approximately
12 gallons per minute. This 12 GPM estimate is based on components
of the mine in-flow which have relatively low conductivity, and is
derived from October, 1983 data. Since, in our opinion, the mine in-