Laserfiche WebLink
<br />The potential for impacts from mining to the Williams Fork AVF is also negligible. The <br />Williams Fork River is located south of the proposed mining area. Disturbed areas in the <br />permit area which drain to the Williams Fork River are located in Horse Gulch, Deal, <br />Elk, Ute, and Deer drainages; these are relatively small drainages. Surface discharge <br />from the sediment ponds in these drainages is limited to spring snowmelt almost <br />exclusively. Discharges from the ponds flow down ephemeral channels which cross an <br />outcrop of the permeable Twentymile Sandstone that is a few hundred feet wide. It is <br />likely that much of the discharge from the ponds infiltrate into this outcrop prior to <br />reaching the Williams Fork River. <br /> <br />The Twentymile Sandstone dips northward, away from the Williams Fork River and <br />underneath the Trapper Mine; consequently, the pond discharges that infiltrate into the <br />sandstone flow away from the Williams Fork River as ground water. The potential for <br />contaminating ground water in the Twentymile Sandstone is negligible due to the <br />relatively small volume of water from the ponds compared to the large volume of ground <br />water in the Twentymile Sandstone. Water from the ponds would also be subject to large <br />evaporation losses on this scrubby, south-facing slope. <br /> <br />Losses from evaporation and infiltration will prevent significant quantities of surface <br />water from the permit area from reaching the Williams Fork River valley. Ground water <br />from the permit area will not reach the Williams Fork River valley because bedrock dips <br />from the river valley to the permit area. Therefore, the Division finds that the proposed <br />surface coal mining operation will not interrupt, discontinue, or preclude farming on the <br />Williams Fork AVF, and will not materially damage the quantity or quality of water in <br />surface or ground water systems that supply the Williams Fork AVF. (4.24.3(1)), <br />(4.24.3(3), and 2.06.8(5)(a)(ii)) <br /> <br /> The Division finds that: <br /> <br />a) The proposed mining activities will comply with the requirements of the Act and <br />the Regulations with respect to alluvial valley floors. (2.06.8(5)(a)(iii)) <br /> <br />b) The surface coal mining and reclamation operations will be conducted to preserve <br />the essential hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors outside the permit area <br />and to reestablish the essential hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors <br />within the affected area throughout the mining and reclamation process (4.24.2). <br /> <br />XVIII. Operations on Prime Farmland <br /> <br />No prime farmlands currently exist within the proposed permit area. Therefore any <br />specific approvals under this section do not apply. <br /> <br />XIX. Mountaintop Removal <br /> <br /> No specific approvals are granted to the applicant under this section. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />42 <br /> <br />Trapper MineJuly 9, 2013 <br /> <br />