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• ` 3 <br />such resources may reasonably be expected to occur" (Sec. 779.20). <br />State law reiterates this regulation and adds the following requirement <br />for fish and wildlife resources information: "The potential for <br />impacts to rare and endangered animal species shall be evaluated ." <br />(Sec. 2.04.11). These requirements are addressed in the report which <br />follows. <br />Description of Mine Sites <br />Location <br />The Plaxwell and Allen underground coal mines are located approxi- <br />• ti mately 30 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado, in Las Animas County. They <br />are in the Purgatoire River drainage, a tributary of the Arkansas River. <br />Three major branches of the Purgatoire, the North Fork, Middle Fork <br />and South Fork, converge within or just below the mine sites. <br />The t4axwe1l Mine is adjacent to the Purgatoire River, three miles <br />upstream from '~eston and the confluence of the South Fork. The <br />current mining operation, including roads, refuse disposal areas, water <br />tank, portal, silo, exhaust fan, warehouse and other physical facilities, <br />currently occupies approximately 70 acres. The area involved constitutes <br />an irregular rectangle with most activities located between 800 and <br />3400 feet from the River. The maxwell Mine lies within what is locally <br />known as the'Picketwire Valley". <br />• The Allen Mine, which has been in operation for nearly 30 years, <br />occupies land which is immediately adjacent to the Middle Fork of the <br />Purgatoire River in what is locally termed "Stonewall '!alley". The <br />