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Peak flows for the draws within the permit area are 0.8 cfs in Glasier Draw, 2.65 cfs in Meehan <br />Draw, and 1.5 cfs in Nygren Draw. Average flows are 0.55 cfs for Meehan Draw and 0.3 cfs for <br />Nygren Draw. Flows to these draws are primarily due to seepage and subsurface flow from <br />irrigation water, with peak flows being attributed to thunderstorm activity. <br />Tuttle Draw averages 2.0 cfs, with peak flows of 9.35 cfs, Coal Creek Canyon averages 0.9 cfs. <br />Peak flows on Tuttle Draw and Coal Creek Canyon are primarily in response to irrigation return <br />flows during the latter part of irrigation season. <br />The San Miguel River, with a drainage area of 1,080 square miles, derives the majority of its flow <br />from snowmelt runoff. Mean flow at Naturita for water years 1995-2009 is 247 cfs. The USGS <br />station at Uravan has a mean flow of 358 cfs for water years 1954-2011. At Nucla, the mean is <br />246 cfs for water years 1995-2011. During irrigation season, roughly mid-April to early October, <br />the CCC Ditch diverts approximately 100 cfs from the San Miguel River just upstream of the town <br />of Naturita, so lower flows are experienced during the latter part of the irrigation season. The ditch <br />is used primarily for flood irrigation of the Tabeguache plateau area, which includes the permit <br />area. As mining operations move to the north, the ditch will be replaced by a permanent pipeline. <br />WFC has conducted baseline water monitoring on twenty surface water sites within and adjacent <br />to the permit boundary. In addition to the monitoring conducted by WFC, Peabody Coal Company <br />conducted baseline monitoring prior to mining in the New Horizon #1 area (southern portion of <br />the New Horizon North Mine) in the early 1980's. WFC has also collected surface water data on <br />Tuttle Draw for it is adjacent to New Horizon #2. Maps 2.04.5-1, 2.04.7-1, and 2.04.7-10, of the <br />permit application package depict all of the surface water monitoring sites. Baseline data on the <br />2nd Park Lateral and Tuttle, Nygren, Meehan and Glasier Draws has been collected (monthly field <br />parameters and bi-monthly laboratory analysis) since October 2008 and is available in Appendix <br />2.04.7-2. <br />Climate- Section 2.04.8 of the permit <br />The climate of the New Horizon North Mine area is typical of intermountain regions. It is <br />characterized by hot summers, cold winters, low precipitation, and relatively short growing <br />seasons. Climatological information for the area is described in Section 2.04.8 of the permit. A <br />NOAA weather station is located at Uravan, Colorado, approximately 10 miles northwest of the <br />permit area at an elevation of 5,010 feet. The mine receives approximately 12 inches of <br />precipitation in an average year. The majority of the precipitation falls between May and October. <br />The average annual temperature is 53.4° F, and the prevailing wind direction is ESE at 7.8 mph. <br />Soils - Section 2.04.9 of the permit <br />The applicant conducted a detailed baseline soil survey of the entire NHN Mine pen -nit area in <br />2008. For this effort, a total of 183 backhoe pits were dug, located as shown on permit Maps <br />2.04.9-2 and -3. Of these, 118 pits were dug at locations undisturbed by mining activities, while <br />65 were located within the area disturbed and reclaimed by Peabody. At each undisturbed location, <br />a formal soil pedon description was taken. The completed pedon forms are found in Appendix <br />no <br />