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Member of the Iles formation and below the Wasatch formation. The coal bearing member of the <br />Mesaverde formation locally contains up to nine (9) coal seams. These seams are located within a <br />stratigraphic interval of approximately 500 to 600 feet above the Rollins Sandstone. These coal seams are, <br />in ascending order, the A -Seam, the B- I Seam, the B-2 Seam, the C -Seam, the D-1 Seam, the D-2 Seam, <br />the E- I Seam, the E-2 Seam and the F -Seam. <br />The B-2 and D-2 Seams are mineable within the permit area. The D-2 Seam overlies the Rollins Sandstone <br />by 350 to 450 feet, and it ranges in thickness from about 8 to 16 feet. The B-2 coal seam lies between the <br />Rollins Sandstone and the D-2 coal seam and varies in thickness from 9 to 22 feet. Once longwall mining <br />in the D-2 coal seam was finished, and with the approval of Permit Revision No. 8, longwall mining began <br />in the B-2 coal seam. <br />Hydrology - <br />Detailed information regarding the surface and groundwater hydrology in and adjacent to the Bowie No. 2 <br />Mine permit area is provided within Sections 2_04.5 and 2.04.7 of the permit application document. A <br />brief summary is provided below, and the summary is derived from the information presented in permit <br />application Sections 2.04.5 and 2.04.7. <br />The permit and adjacent areas are generally bounded by three (3) perennial streams. These streams are <br />Terror Creek, Hubbard Creek and the North Fork of the Gunnison River and the streams are located west, <br />east and south of the permit area, respectively. Tributary to the perennial streams are the following <br />intermittent and ephemeral streams: Freeman Gulch, Stephans Draw, A -Gulch, B -Gulch, C -Gulch, <br />D -Gulch, Dove Gulch and Sheep Corral Gulch. The specific locations of these streams are depicted on <br />permit application Map No. 9. <br />The North Fork of the Gunnison River drains an area of approximately 526 square miles. The average <br />annual yield of the North Fork of the Gunnison River from October 1993 to September 1994 was <br />approximately 330,500 acre-feet. The quantity and quality of this river is influenced significantly by <br />agricultural and municipal uses. Near Somerset, Colorado, the water in the North Fork of the Gunnison <br />River is a calcium -bicarbonate type, and total dissolved solids concentrations range from approximately <br />100 milligrams per liter (mg/1) to approximately 400 mg/L <br />Terror Creek is a perennial stream which drains approximately 29 square miles, and Hubbard Creek is a <br />perennial stream which drains approximately 35 square miles. Freeman Gulch is a significant drainage <br />which is tributary to Hubbard Creek. Freeman Gulch exhibited flow during the snowmelt period of Spring <br />1995, and may be considered an intermittent stream. Stephans Draw is also an intermittent stream, and <br />Stockpond P-1 is located along Stephans Draw. <br />The drainages of A -Gulch, B -Gulch, C -Gulch, D -Gulch, Sheep Corral Gulch and a portion of Dove Gulch <br />probably exhibit ephemeral flow regimes. Originally, a portion of Dove Gulch was considered perennial <br />However, in Permit Revision No. 10, BRL is contending that Dove Gulch is ephemeral. <br />There are twelve (12) stock ponds located in the permit and adjacent areas. These include Pond P-1, <br />mentioned above, and all of the ponds are manmade. The ponds collect spring season runoff, and any <br />available seep water. <br />Groundwater in the area is located within the alluvial deposits along the North Fork of the Gunnison River <br />and Hubbard and Terror Creeks, within the steep sloped colluvial deposits found within some of the <br />15 <br />