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soils are acceptable for this use. The surface water and groundwater resources of the <br />permit area are considered minimal as described below insofar as their contribution to the <br />local and regional water systems. There are no irrigation ditches in the aforementioned <br />areas. The combination ditch and berms present in the terrace fields are open at both <br />ends. SCS personnel in Durango describe these structures as terrace systems. Terrace <br />systems serve to accumulate snowpack because there is no water available for irrigation <br />(personal communication, Mr. Gene Harper, SCS, Durango, Colorado). In the original <br />permit application, the location farmer, Mr. Ken Jenkins, also stated the structures serve <br />to retard soil erosion caused by wind and were paid for by the SCS as erosion control <br />devices. <br />Within the basin drainage, sufficient water is not available for irrigation during the <br />growing season (See Table 4-6 and Section 2.06.1(7). Importation of water to terrace <br />areas via canals is in practice on Florida Mesa, but not on the Animas River Valley in the <br />locale of the mine (Mr. Gene Harper, SCS, Durango, Colorado). There is no feasible way <br />that importation of water from the Animas River could be accomplished. Any such canal <br />would have to intercept the river north of Durango for gravity flow to the project site to <br />occur, necessitating canal construction through the City of Durango. <br />Herbaceous production within the pinyon-juniper and mountain shrub vegetation <br />communities was determined during baseline vegetation studies conducted prior to <br />permitting of the mine. Total annual herbaceous vegetation production ranged from 65 <br />lb/ac in the mountain shrub community to 200 lb/ac in the pinyon-juniper community. <br />Total annual herbaceous production was 844 lb/ac in an old field vegetation community. <br />The monthly per animal forage requirement for cattle is 900 pounds of forage. Within <br />the most productive vegetation community of the permit area, nearly 9 acres would be <br />required for each animal for a nine month grazing season. In the least productive <br />vegetation community, 125 acres would be required to provide adequate feed for one <br />animal over a nine month grazing season. <br />The permit area was not mined for coal prior to issuance of the first CDRMSpermit. <br />Since then mining activities have been conducted on the permit area as discussed in <br />Section 2.05. The nearest historic coal mine was about one mile away. Building stone <br />(sandstone) was extracted for use in the Durango and surrounding areas (See Map 4-1) <br />within and adjacent to the permit area, as described below. <br />In mining the sandstone building material, a quarry method of mining extraction was <br />used. The sandstone rock was quarried from the sandstone cap rock in one location <br />within the permit area as located on Map 4-1. The quantity of sandstone quarried is not <br />known. Historically, sandstone was first quarried in about 1931, and quarry operations <br />continued intermittently until approximately 1955. The land use preceding the 1931 rock <br />quarrying was primarily public domain and considered open range. Livestock grazing <br />and possibly wood and timbercutting were probably the principle uses. The potentially <br />affected surface from rock quarrying has been obliterated by recent coal exploration work <br />and natural erosion. There was also a wildfire in the vicinity of the early quarry which <br />Abridged Permit Document4-2Permit Renewal RN04 4/2014 <br />