2014-09-12_REVISION - C1996083 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Site - specific surveys for sensitive plants would be conducted onsite prior to the development of any surface facilities or to other soil - disturbance activities. • There would be no surface occupancy or soil - disturbing activities within a 100 -foot radius of sensitive plant locations unless exceptions were approved by the Authorized Officer. • Application of herbicides, surfactants, and other weed control measures would avoid overspray or drift onto desirable species or sensitive plants. • If subsidence adversely affects surface resources in any way (including, but not limited to a documented water loss), the coal lessee, at their expense, will be responsible to: restore stream channels, stock ponds, protect stream flow with earthwork or temporary culverts, restore affected roads, or provide other measures to repair damage or replace any surface water and/or developed groundwater source, water conveyance facilities, with water from an alternate source in sufficient quantity and quality to maintain existing riparian habitat, and wildlife use, as authorized by 36 CFR 251. An appropriate augmentation plan for replacement water will be decreed prior to commencing mining activities and will consider drought conditions and the limitations of local water supplies. • The lessee /operator would design the layout of longwall panels to minimize impacts to West Fork Terror Creek. Primarily, this will consist of orienting panels approximately parallel with the creek as currently proposed and represented in the Subsidence Report (WWE, 2013a), thus reducing the number and severity of transitions from subsidence to non - subsidence zones. • The lessee /operator would design and implement a stream flow measurement program. The program will consist of establishing monitoring stations upstream and downstream of the expected subsidence area on West Fork Terror Creek. Flow monitoring stations will be designed and calibrated by water resource engineers and will focus on continuous measurements of low and base flow conditions (i.e., summer through late fall). Lessee /operator staff will have trained staff available to conduct site visits to ensure continuous flow measurements are recorded on a minimum monthly schedule, weather permitting. Flow data will be compiled into an annual report that will include comparisons to previously collected data. This report will be submitted to the BLM, USFS and USFWS. • The lessee /operator will conduct fish, sediment and macroinvertebrate sampling (as performed by WWE and MEC in 2012) every two years during and twice following the mining activities (at 5 and 10 years periods) prior to bond release. A report should be distributed to the BLM, USFS and USFWS documenting if statistically significant declines are observed related to mining activities. If a statistically significant decline in the fishery within the subsidence area results from the Proposed Action (i.e., a decline at sites within the subsidence area does not correlate with a decline in the fishery outside the subsidence area), the lessee /operator will investigate the cause of the decline. If the decline is resulting from habitat changes as a result of longwall mining induced subsidence, the operator /lessee will engage a fish habitat ecologist to design habitat enhancement structures to mitigate the observed impacts. If a decline in fish numbers persists following mitigation of an observed physical or chemical impact, the