2018-01-11_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1996084

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On October 17, 2017, the Division received a response to the preliminary adequacy review. NECC voiced no objections to the reclamation cost estimate. The Division sent a second adequacy review letter to NECC on November 24, 2017. A response was sent by NECC on November 29, 2017 along with associated revised pages. All issues identified during the review were addressed and resolved. During this period extensions to the proposed decision due date were requested and approved multiple times. The Division queried the AVS on August 7, 2017 for permittee New Elk Coal Company, using a list of officers and directors. There were no violations retrieved by the system. The AVS system was queried again on January 10, 2018, and again no violations were retrieved by the system. Description of the Environment General Area The Lorencito Canyon mine is situated near the center of the Raton Basin, southeast of the town of Weston, Colorado. The County Map Topographic Series, Las Animas County, Colorado, sheet 4 of 7, published by the United States Geological Survey, depicts the greater mine area. Lands in this area are a small part of the larger Park Plateau, a portion of the Great Plains physiographic province, consisting of dissected highlands that separate the High Plains to the east from the Rocky Mountains to the west. The major structural feature in the region of the mine area is the Raton Basin, a broad, asymmetric synclinal basin with its axis trending north -south. Rock units deposited during the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era and during the Paleocene period of the Cenozoic Era are exposed throughout the basin due to uplift and subsequent erosion. Coal seams in the Vermejo Formation and the Raton Formation are exposed at various locations throughout the basin. Coal mining has been conducted in the area since the 1850's, mostly in underground mines faced -up into coal seam outcrops in the valleys. Coal quality is generally very good, with low sulfur content and good coking qualities in many of the seams. Due to parting and splits in the seams, much of the coal mined in the region requires washing prior to loadout and shipment. The Purgatoire River flows through the area and is the major stream that drains the region. Its headwaters are in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to the west and the Spanish Peaks to the northwest. The North Fork of the Purgatoire drains the Spanish Peaks area, the Middle Fork drains the area west of Stonewall, Colorado, and the South Fork of the Purgatoire drains the areas south of Colorado Highway 12 into New Mexico to the south. The Purgatoire River drains 404 square miles above its confluence with Lorencito Canyon. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has operated two stream gauging stations in the vicinity; site 07124050 at Stonewall, Colorado and site 07124200 at Madrid, Colorado. The Stonewall site drains 57 square miles and the Madrid site, above Trinidad Reservoir, drains 505 square miles. Numerous perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams drain to the Purgatoire between these two sites.