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supply water to the AVF are flood irrigation and subirrigation as described above. <br />Absent information to the contrary, the AVF is considered significant to individual <br />farming units in the area. <br />Degraded water from the King I and II Mines could infiltrate Hay Gulch alluvium <br />either from the mines' ponds or haul roads. The infiltrating volumes would be so small <br />compared to the volume of natural flow in the alluvium that the natural flow would <br />readily dilute and attenuate the infiltration. The Division concludes that the mines <br />have been designed to minimize impacts to the AVE <br />The Pine Gulch drainage crosses through the southern end of the King I area of the <br />permit. Sufficient information has been supplied by the operator in regard to Pine <br />Gulch, and confirmed in the field by the Division, to make the determination that Pine <br />Gulch does not contain an alluvial valley floor (AVF) within the permit area. While <br />there are limited alluvial deposits in Pine Gulch, they are not currently flood irrigated <br />for agricultural purposes and have not been cultivated historically. Due to the limited <br />surface water availability in Pine Gulch and ephemeral deposits, there would appear <br />to be no potential for future surface irrigation along Pine Gulch within the permit area. <br />Additionally, there is not sufficient alluvial ground water to enhance the productivity <br />of agriculturally useful vegetation along Pine Gulch within the permit area. The <br />operator has indicated that the area of confluence of Pine Gulch with Hay Gulch, which <br />lies several miles beyond the permit area, is an alluvial valley floor where agricultural <br />practices are being conducted. This agricultural activity depends primarily on <br />irrigation water diverted to the area from the La Plata River and does not depend on <br />surface or ground water associated with Pine Gulch. While sub -irrigation may also be <br />a factor in the productivity of this area, it is the opinion of the Soil Conservation <br />Service that this sub -irrigation would most likely be related to the Hay Gulch water <br />table. <br />The Division finds that activities proposed by the applicant will not interrupt, <br />discontinue, or preclude farming on the alluvial valley floors that are irrigated or <br />naturally subirrigated (4.24.3(1)). <br />The proposed activities will not materially damage the quantity or quality of water in <br />the surface or ground water system described above (4.24.3(3) and 2.06.8(5)(a)(ii)). <br />The proposed activities will comply with the requirements of the Act and the <br />Regulations with respect to alluvial valley floors (2.06.8(5)(a)(iii)). <br />Surface coal mining and reclamation operations will be conducted to preserve the <br />essential hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors outside the permit area and to <br />reestablish the essential hydrologic functions of alluvial valley floors within the <br />affected area throughout the mining and reclamation process (4.24.2). <br />B. GCC's alluvial ground water monitoring wells in the Hay Gulch AVF satisfy the <br />requirement to install, maintain, and operate an environmental monitoring system on <br />