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Permit Number C-1994-082 Page 15 of 17 <br />operation is 150 tons. The field in Section 18 provides 13% of the total productivity. The estimated <br />worst-case loss in productivity is 2.8% as shown on Table 17-17a of the PAP. Crop reductions were <br />based on the formula presented in the Material Damage Assessment Process Pertaining to Alluvial <br />Valley Floors, Surface Water, Ground Water and Subsidence at Coal Mines (January, 1988). As <br />referenced in this document, less than a 3% reduction is considered insignificant. <br /> <br />Sage Creek "Flood Irrigated Alfalfa Fields" <br /> <br />The Yoast Mine permit application package documents the presence of approximately 86 acres of <br />flood irrigated alfalfa hay along Sage Creek in Section 30. Five to ten acres of alfalfa were flood <br />irrigated in this field from 1988-1992. The field was irrigated by means of pipes spreading water <br />from a small reservoir near Sage Creek. The reservoir does not currently impound water because the <br />dam is breached. <br /> <br />The field was converted to dryland wheat. Water availability for irrigation was marginal; however, <br />future restoration of the dam and flood irrigation of the field is a remote possibility. The creek <br />typically dries up in July or August. <br /> <br />It is unlikely a reservoir in Sage Creek will be reconstructed in the future. Two previous attempts to <br />construct dams have failed and the increased engineering specifications and economics involved in <br />rebuilding the dam would be significant. Without the dam, water availability is insufficient for flood <br />irrigation. The Division agrees with SPL’s assessment of water availability in Sage Creek and finds <br />that the area has no potential for successful irrigation. <br /> <br />The Division finds the field in Section 30 meets the regulatory definition of an alluvial valley floor <br />because it may be sub-irrigated. However, only a minor portion of the alluvial valley floor is sub- <br />irrigated, according to Exhibit 16-3 of the PAP. Furthermore, the field is seven miles downstream <br />from the nearest discharge point for potential spoil springs. Therefore, the potential for material <br />damage to the quality of water supplying ground water to the alluvial valley floor is insignificant. <br /> <br />The Division finds that activities conducted by SPL have not interrupted, discontinued or precluded <br />farming on the alluvial valley floors in the Sage Creek Reservoir Site and the AVF identified in <br />Section 30 that are irrigated or naturally sub-irrigated. The field in Section 13 is undeveloped <br />rangeland, which is not significant to farming, and the field in Section 18 provides negligible support <br />for the farm’s agricultural production. <br /> <br />The SL-6 Phase III BRB has not materially damaged the quantity or quality of water in the surface or <br />ground water system described above, due to the potential AVF lands being of such small acreage as <br />to be of negligible impact on the farm’s agricultural production. <br /> <br />The conducted activities have complied with the requirement of the Act and the regulations with <br />respect to alluvial valley floors. <br /> <br />Findings on Protection of Hydrologic Balance <br /> <br />According to Rule 3.03.2(2), the Division must conduct an inspection and an evaluation to determine