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35 <br />Water generated in the mine workings is pumped to Pond 001 for settling prior to <br />discharge to the Purgatoire River. Water pumped from the mines is not expected to <br />exceed 600 gallons per minute. Mine water is retained in the pond only as necessary <br />to reduce total suspended solids concentration to below 35 mg/l. Any excess pond <br />capacity is used for water storage to supplement mining and preparation plant <br />operations to the extent allowed by water rights leased by NECC. The primary <br />spillway for Pond 1 is a 24 -inch diameter corrugated metal pile. NECC installed a <br />10" diameter flow meter at the end of the primary spillway to satisfy the Division of <br />Water Resources request for a flow- measuring device. A 10" diameter flow meter <br />has a capacity of 1,800 gallon per minute. <br />Figure 5 provides design criteria and proposed cross - sections for pond 001. The <br />location of pond 001 is shown on Map 13 Sheet 1, Sediment and Surface Water <br />Control Plan -East Portal. Coal processing waste (from sediment pond clean -out) and <br />remnant coal stockpile debris was removed from the pond site and disposed of at the <br />Development Waste Pile (DWP) prior to pond construction. <br />(5) Topsoil <br />A majority of the disturbance at the New Elk Mine occurred prior to existing <br />regulations on salvaging topsoil. As such, only a limited amount is available for <br />reclamation. The exception to this is the refuse disposal area (RDA), which was <br />permitted in 1984. The following discussion addresses the soil handling practices in <br />the RDA and a plan for top soiling all surface disturbed areas at the New Elk Mine. <br />RDA soils inventory results estimated 6 to 12 inches of topsoil could be removed <br />from the area. Table 24, Soil Balance for Refuse Disposal Area, represents a topsoil <br />balance for the life of the refuse pile. In calculating the soil balance presented in <br />Table 24, the operator utilized an average stripping depth of 13 inches. It was further <br />assumed that 9 inches of topsoil would be used in reclamation, to accommodate <br />slopes and benches within the area. The 0.75 feet of topsoil will be placed on 3.25 <br />feet of non -toxic growth medium acquired from below the topsoil. <br />Section 2.05 TR -70 03/02/2015 <br />