DON BATCHELDER
JOHN E. PETERS BEN TISDEL
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 541 4th Street • P.O. Box C • Ouray, Colorado 81427 • 970-325-7320 • FAX: 970-325-0452
Ross Davis Idarado Project Manager Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South Denver CO 80246 [email protected]
June 26, 2018
RE: Idarado Resource Damage Funds: Pre-Project Proposal - Review Requested
Dear Mr. Davis:
Thank you for your letter dated April 30, 2018, regarding the remaining funds in the Idarado Natural Resource Damage fund (NRD funds), and CDPHE’s encouragement to stakeholders in Ouray County to create suitable project proposals.
Since receiving your letter, the Ouray County Board of County Commissioners helped organize a public process to identify partners and potential projects that meet the Trustee’s requirements to use NRD funds. We asked stakeholders to focus on potential projects that restore, replace or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured; projects that include matching fund sources; projects that are part of a cooperative effort with other organizations; and projects that either will require a low level of operation and maintenance, or for which a suitable alternative for operation and maintenance by an entity or organization other than the State is available.
With significant input from a variety of stakeholders, including the City of Ouray and the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership, three proposed projects rose to the top of the list. Taken in total, these three projects would benefit approximately 109 acres of mountain and sub-alpine forest eco-systems by increasing wildlife habitat, restoring riparian form and function, and improving aquatic habitat.
Total estimated cost to complete all three projects, as currently conceived, would be in the neighborhood of $620,000. It is envisioned that all DRAFT of the remaining Idarado NRD funds ($238,824 as of 02/12/18) would be utilized to complete these three projects, as shown in the project summaries, below. Partners would bring about $270,000 of cash and $110,000 of in-kind contributions to complete the projects.
We would like CDPHE to please review the following summary of the three proposed projects, and provide feedback to stakeholders and their partners, prior to the project proponents creating final project proposals. Your comments, questions, and concerns will provide guidance, and save the State and local interests time and energy. Your feedback will also help assure that the proposals are tailored to the goals and objectives of the Trustees and CDPHE. With that in mind, the proposed projects are:
1) Silver Mountain Mining Claims Property Acquisition $138,000 NRD Funds Requested $210,000 Total Project Proponent: The Trust for Land Restoration (TLR) Partners: Ouray Trails Group; Ouray County Historical Society; Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP); County of Ouray; City of Ouray; Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS).
2) Atlas Mine and Mill Restoration Project $100,000 NRD Funds Requested $350,000 Total Project
Proponent: Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership Partners: Ouray Silver Mines Inc; Ouray County Historical Society; County of Ouray; the Six Basins OHV Project; Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety; US Forest Service.
3) Red Mountain Creek- Treasury Tunnel Flow Analysis $10,000 NRD Funds Requested $70,000 Total Project Proponent: The County of Ouray Partner: Hydrowest, Inc, owners and operators of the Ouray Hydroelectric Plant.
Attached is a summary of each of the proposed projects. Again, it is our request that CDPHE review, and provide us with feedback, questions, comments and concerns, prior to the proponents and their partners submitting formal proposals.
We should also point out that the projects summarized here were the three projects that were the best developed to date, and won the most support amongst the stakeholders involved. There are other potential projects that, at this point, are not as well-developed, but could be developed as suitable alternatives to the projects listed above, given more time.
Again, thank you for your willingness to help stakeholders in the Uncompahgre watershed design and complete projects of significant benefit to the natural environment and to the citizens of Ouray County. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been a key contributor to the environmental health and the public welfare of southwest Colorado, and we are gratified to know our positive relationship with CDPHE continues.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Don Batchelder Chair
DRAFT
Attachment 1
w ww.restorationtrust.org
133 N. Lena St. #3, POB 743 Ridgway Colorado 81432 970-626-3236
Silver Mountain Mining Claims Property Acquisition Summary $138,000 NRD Funds Requested $210,000 Total Project
Proponent: The Trust for Land Restoration Partners: Ouray Trails Group; Ouray County Historical Society; Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership; County of Ouray; City of Ouray; Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety.
The Trust for Land Restoration (TLR) proposes to acquire the Silver Mountain Mine, which includes 104 acres of privately-owned mining claims on Brown Mountain, just above Gray Copper Gulch, a contributor to Red Mountain Creek. TLR would then donate the property to the City of Ouray, contingent upon the results of a qualified Phase I Environmental Assessment. The owner has expressed an interest in selling, and is pleased the property might be protected from cabin and/or second home development, and the habitat-fragmentation and loss of eco-system function that such development would afford.
Acquiring and conserving the Silver Mountain Mine meets the goals of the Idarado NRDF Trustees by acquiring, protecting, and making available to the public, important wildlife habitat and high-quality aspen/mixed-conifer/montane forest, replacing like-forest irreparably damaged by mining in the Red Mountain Mining District, less than a mile south of the site. There are numerous fresh water springs on the property, each supporting micro-riparian areas. The property lies at elevations ranging from 10,400 feet in elevation to 11,400 feet. Brown Mountain Road, a popular four-wheel drive road emanating directly adjacent and north of Idarado Tailings Pile #3 and US 550 in Ironton Park, travels through the property. Travelers on Brown MountainDRAFT Road enjoy viewing the many historical buildings that sit on or just off the property. Ouray County Historical Society has pledged to catalog and, where appropriate, stabilize and protect as many of these historical remnants as is practical.
In keeping with other land acquisitions funded by the Idarado NRD Fund, TLR would retain a conservation easement on the property to assure that the conservation values identified are maintained. The property would be managed by the City in a manner consistent with the intent of the Trustees and the surrounding National Forest. TLR holds the conservation easement on the Garard Property. The eastern boundary of the Garard Property is less than one-half mile from the western boundary of the Silver Mountain property. The Garard Property was acquired in 2001 with Idarado NRDF money by the County of Ouray, in conjunction with the Red Mountain Project. The Red Mountain Project acquired and made public over 10,000 acres in Ouray, San Juan and San Miguel Counties, utilizing $14 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
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The Silver Mountain in-holdings are among the last in the greater Ironton Park area that have not already been made public via the Red Mountain Project. The Silver Mountain Mine was primarily a gold, lead and silver mine. It operated from 1882 until about 1920. Though still to be confirmed by locating recent survey markers in the field, it appears that the Silver Mountain Mine portal itself, and several associated cabins and outbuildings, are located on National Forest land, just off the private property.
Water quality data collected by USGS, EPA, and DRMS in the past twenty years suggests that water quality from the Silver Mountain Mine varies widely; some samples indicate flow from the adit attains aquatic life standards, while others suggest flow from the adit exceeds aquatic life standards by a wide margin. Additionally, flow from the Silver Mountain Mine adit passes through waste rock. Collectively, the adit and waste rock may impair the riparian and aquatic habitat of the small perennial drainage tributary to Grey Copper Gulch. Diverting water flow from the adit away from the waste rock would benefit the downstream aquatic and riparian habitat. DRMS estimates that diverting the adit flow around the waste rock would cost approximately $30,000 and would create a considerable benefit to aquatic and riparian habitat.
TLR has extensive experience working with willing landowners to acquire and make public dispersed mining claims. In 2015, with funds provided by a private foundation, TLR acquired twelve mining claims just south of the Silver Mountain property, and donated them to the US Forest Service. In 2017 TLR acquired the two historic Corkscrew Turntable claims, and donated them to the County of Ouray. Earlier this year, at the request of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, TLR acquired a mining claim near the top of Red Mountain Pass that included an important SNOTEL snow, rain, and climate data gathering site, and donated it to the Southwest Water Conservation District in Durango.
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Attachment 2
Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership 133 N. Lena St. #3, Ridgway, CO 81432 970-325-3010, [email protected]
Atlas Mine and Mill Restoration Project Summary $100,000 NRD Request $350,000 Total Project Proponent: Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership Partners: Ouray Silver Mines Inc; Ouray County Historical Society; County of Ouray; the Six Basins OHV Project; Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety; US Forest Service.
The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership (UWP) would like to take advantage of a unique opportunity to partner with a private mining company to achieve environmental benefits greater than either organization would be able to achieve independently. Restoration of the Atlas Mine and Mill site will meet the goals of the Idarado NRD Trustees by restoring the form and function of Sneffels Creek and adjacent riparian area which will benefit terrestrial and aquatic habitat. UWP proposes to use $100,000 in NRD funds to complete a variety of restoration activities at the Atlas Mine and Mill site, in conjunction with the Atlas Mill restoration project funded through a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) by Ouray Silver Mines Inc (OSMI).
The Atlas Mine and Mill site is approximately six miles southwest of the City of Ouray. The Atlas site is located just south of Ouray County Road 26, immediately adjacent to Sneffels Creek. The Atlas Mill site was acquired by the United States Forest Service (USFS) in 2003 as part of the Red Mountain Project. There are approximately 24,000 cubic yards of pre-law tailings on five acres (including private claims) of riparian and wetland habitat immediatelyDRAFT adjacent to Sneffels Creek, and approximately 2,000 cubic yards of waste rock located near the Atlas Mill structure. The Atlas Mill, located on site, is one of the best preserved historic mills in the county.
Studies completed over the last twenty years include engineering evaluation and cost analysis by the Trust for Public Lands (2001), water quality evaluations by the USGS (2002), chemical and biological assessments of the tailings by DRMS (2014), wetlands delineation by Fortune Minerals (2015), biological assessment by the USFS (2015), and the Atlas Mill Assessment by UWP (2018). Sneffels Creek is listed on the State of Colorado 303(d) List of impaired waters for cadmium, lead, manganese, and zinc as well as macroinvertebrates along the reaches of interest (COGUUN05_E and COGUUN09_B). Water quality sampling and sediment leaching tests indicate that runoff and infiltration through the tailings degrades riparian health and aquatic life in Sneffels Creek. UWP’s Atlas Mill assessment found that lead derived from the tailings creates both human and ecological risks.
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OMSI is currently in discussions with the CDPHE to apply $198,701 in SEP funds and at least $50,000 of in-kind engineering design to perform environmental restoration activities at the site, including tailings consolidation, compaction, and capping to restore riparian and aquatic habitat. Generally, project design, engineering, and planning costs are not eligible for funding from the NRD funds, so the SEP project provides an ideal opportunity to cover these costs and other elements of the project.
Project alternatives will be presented at a community meeting on July 11 at 7 p.m. at the Ouray Community Center to solicit public input before the project designs are finalized. SEP funds are available as the result of an enforcement action in 2015 against the neighboring Revenue-Virginius Mine for the infractions by the previous owner (Fortune Minerals). The Revenue-Virginius Mine is now owned by OSMI.
Combining the SEP funds and in-kind donations with NRD funds at the Atlas Mill and Mine site will allow for a broader scope of work and take advantage of talent and equipment to provide the maximum impact per dollar. NRD funds will be used for restoration efforts above and beyond what will be completed with the SEP funds, including re-vegetation and stream channel restoration to improve terrestrial and aquatic habitat at the site.
Since 2010, UWP has completed several water-quality improvement projects in the Uncompahgre Watershed. The Upper Canyon Creek Watershed, including Sneffels Creek, is a priority area for UWP. In 2016, UWP performed a river bank stabilization project, funded by a CDPHE Nonpoint Source Program grant, with matching funds provided by DRMS, on OSMI lands, to prevent Sneffels Creek from eroding the Atlas tailings and further degrading habitat in and adjacent to Sneffels Creek.
OSMI will work with CDPHE as part of the SEP program to develop a monitoring program to evaluate the benefits of the Atlas Mill and Mine Site project. OSMI already monitors Sneffels Creek quarterly on a voluntarily basis. OSMI will monitor and perform routine maintenance in the restored area at the Atlas site for a period of five years. The Atlas Mine and Mill site is proximal to OSMI’s active permit area; allowing for easy access to support maintenance of the restoration areas, as needed, to promote longevity of the project. DRAFT
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DON BATCHELDER
JOHN E. PETERS BEN TISDEL
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 541 4th Street • P.O. Box C • Ouray, Colorado 81427 • 970-325-7320 • FAX: 970-325-0452
Red Mountain Creek-Treasury Tunnel Flow Analysis- Summary $10.000 NRD Funds Requested $70,000 Total Project
Proponent: The County of Ouray Partner: Hydrowest, Inc, owners and operators of the Ouray Hydroelectric Plant.
Ouray County proposes to build upon previous hydrological modeling and legal water rights investigation by Hydrowest, Inc., valued at $60,000, to study and analyze current and historic water flows emanating from the Treasury Tunnel, by contracting expertise to determine if water once available to the Uncompahgre watershed from the Tunnel is being diverted into the Idarado mining works. Re-establishing flows from the Treasury Tunnel into Red Mountain Creek would provide significant environmental benefit, restoring water resources damaged by Idarado mining operations. If water could be returned to the Uncompahgre watershed via the Treasury Tunnel, the positive impact would be the replacement/acquisition of critical natural resources and the rehabilitation of a hydrologically disturbed stream. Additional benefits include: The project is in close proximity to the Idarado site The $10,000 requested has already been matched with approximately $60,000 by Hydrowest on the Uncompahgre below the Idarado mine site No maintenance will be required by this undertaking The State will not have to conduct operations or maintenance A specific natural resource is being restored The project is coordinated with other projects It will increase water quality in Red Mountain Creek via dilution of low pH water It will increase water supplies to other users in the Uncompahgre basin It will reduce maintenance at acidic water affected structures downstream from Idarado The specific natural resource is Red Mountain Creek and the rehabilitation thereof via increased neutral pH flows which would tend to dilute current low pH flows
By way of background, the Treasury Tunnel (nee Hammond) was constructed in the upper reaches of the Uncompahgre River basin, on the northDRAFT side of Red Mountain Pass, over 100 years ago. As mining progressed, the mine workings intercepted fractures and permeable strata providing conduits for meteoric waters to enter the mine, discharging at the portal. The resulting flows at the mine portal were so prolific that the tunnel owners installed a sizeable hydroelectric plant to utilize the Ouray County derived Treasury Tunnel mine drain waters, approximately 2000 gpm, for power generation prior to direct discharge into Red Mountain Creek. During WW II, the tunnel was extended westward to connect with the Mill Level and Meldrum tunnels in Telluride. Research procured for Hydrowest shows that, on July 12, 1982, James E. Boyd of Idarado (Newmont Services Limited) wrote a letter to Donald Simpson at CDH/WQCD, stating that: “in the past, the Treasury Tunnel carried a considerable flow, but in 1977, under agreement with the Division, the bulk of the abandoned and inactive mine discharge flow through the Treasury Tunnel was diverted to the Meldrum portal. The flow from the Treasury Tunnel now ranges from 200 gallons per minute during runoff periods to approximately 4 gallons per minute during the drier portions of the year. The flow is usually very small, and probably averages 10 gallons per minute year-round.” The question of interest to Ouray County is whether or not these flows seemingly lost inside the workings of the Idarado Mine can be returned to Red Mountain Creek and the Uncompahgre watershed. If successful, the large influx of neutral pH water from the Treasury Tunnel should substantially raise the pH in the upper reaches of Red Mountain Creek and improve water quality in the Uncompahgre River above Ridgway Reservoir.