2016-05-28_REPORT - C1981038 (4)

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Introduction Bowie Resources Limited acquired the Orchard Valley Mine from the Cyprus Orchard Valley Coal Corporation in December 1994. Bowie Resources Limited was acquired by Bowie Resources, LLC in December 2003. The underground coal mine (renamed the Bowie No. 1 Mine) is approximately two miles north of Paonia, Colorado. The Bowie No. 1 East Mine has not operated since it was sealed in June 1986, following a mine fire. The areal extent of the East Mine workings was 1,156 acres at that time. During July 1993, rehabilitation efforts at the portal area of the East mine were completed and the mine workings of the East and West mines were connected. Only the first fifteen crosscuts of the East mine were reopened with the rest of the mine remaining sealed and inactive. Mining ceased at the Bowie No. 1 Mine on December 4, 1997. The coal mined from both the East and West mine is in the "B" seam of the Mesaverde Coal Member. Hydrologic monitoring began at the mine in 1983. The area affected by mining was reduced to 2,714 acres with the approval of permit revision no. 4 since some of the East mine workings are incorporated into the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit boundary. This report presents monitoring results from the 2015 monitoring season. The Bowie No. 1 Mine has been idle for more than 18 complete monitoring seasons (1998 - 2015). Several monitoring points are no longer available for monitoring due to a mechanical collapse of drill holes. Bowie No. 1 received permission through a revision to the permit document (TR-34) to eliminate these holes from the monitoring schedule. The approval of permit revision no. 4 transferred a number of monitoring points from the Bowie No. 1 Mine to the Bowie No. 2 Mine. Terror Creek Monitoring stations SW-1, SW-2, SW-4 and SW-10 were transferred. Stevens Gulch ponds 81, 7-2, 7-7, 7-11, 12-1, 12-2, 12-9, 12-10, 12-11, 18-4, 82, 1-4 and 1-6 were transferred. Terror Creek ponds 1-11, 6-2, 6-5, and 8-4 were transferred. Coal Gulch ponds 17-1, 18-1 and 83 were transferred. Stevens Gulch Springs 19, 23, 7-4, 7-5 and 12-4 were transferred. Terror Creek Springs 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 1-3, 1-5, 5-1, 6-1, 6-4, 6-6, 7-1, 7-9, 7-10 and 8-5 were transferred. Groundwater monitoring wells CWI DH-58 and DH-60 were also transferred. All of the stations transferred except SW-10 and spring 20 were inactive monitoring points for the Bowie No. 1 mine. The following 2015 Annual Hydrology Report narrative is divided into ten parts. Discussion is presented by each monitoring category identified in Table 1 - Summary of Hydrologic Monitoring Stations - Required Monitoring for Annual Hydrology Report. Table 1 (immediately following this narrative) defines the monitoring points by type and sample frequency, field parameter sampling schedule and laboratory parameter sampling schedule. Several monitoring points have been removed from the surveillance schedule and are noted on this table as such. B04 was removed as a monitoring point by technical revision number 55. Table 2 contains a listing of the laboratory parameters for surface and ground water to be tested in accordance with the mining permit application. Laboratory analyses are performed by SGS Accutest Mountain States, 4036 Youngfield St., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-3862 or by Enviro-Chem Analytical, Inc., 2493 Hwy 6 & 50, Unit 7, Grand Junction, CO 81505. Table 3 contains local precipitation data for the year. This data is available from the internet at www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/Climsmco.html select Paonia 1 SW (056306). The average precipitation for the period of record (1893 through 2015) is 15.39 inches. Precipitation during 2015 totaled 21.15 inches significantly above average. Table 4 contains a listing of all monitoring points that have been undermined by the Bowie No. 1 Mine, the date of mining, and the panel or section that undermined them. Table 5 contains a listing of all monitoring points that are potentially impacted by the angle of draw of the underground workings of the Bowie No. 1 Mine. Since the mine has been reclaimed, no prediction of potential monitoring point impacts is presented.