2018-01-03_PERMIT FILE - C1981010 (9)

Home Browse Search

2 fall of 2013, and minor adjustments to the photographic mapping were made based upon IME's extensive experience in working on the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area. The boundaries of smaller vegetation blocks within the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area were delineated with a Trimble Model Geo XH GPS unit as the investigators walked these boundaries. The GPS unit had a real-time accuracy that located vegetation boundaries in the field to within one meter of their true positions A detailed delineation of the vegetation types found within the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area is shown on Map 48A. This map was prepared at a scale of 1:600 and used ten -foot contour intervals. This map shows the extent of all vegetation types that will be affected and the location of each vegetation transect used to evaluate plant cover, herbaceous production, and shrub density within the proposed mine expansion area. The vegetation boundaries of all lands located within one-half mile of the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area also are shown on this map. 2.2 Vegetation Sampling The specific sampling methodologies used in this evaluation followed the procedures found in the CDRMS "Guidelines with Land Use and Vegetation Requirements of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining" issued in June of 1988 (Vegetation Guideline); the "Guideline for the Management of Noxious Weeds on Coal Mine Permit Areas" issued in 1990; and the "Guidelines Regarding Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues " issued April 18, 1995. Finally, the "Proposed Revisions to the Rules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mininge' dated May 13, 2014; Rule 4.15.11; and corresponding documents were used to provide guidance on sample adequacy calculations and statistical comparisons. Prior to starting the field sampling for this investigation, the vegetation sampling requirements found in Rules 2.04.10 and 4.15.11 of the CDRMS regulations were carefully reviewed. The requirements were discussed with Ms. Sandy Brown and Mr. Jared Ebert of the CDRMS, in a pre -consultation meeting held in their office on April 14, 2014, wherein the proposed sampling and data analysis methods were presented and approved. Also, Ms. Brown and Mr. Ebert provided CDRMS' recently enacted regulatory amendments. During this consultation meeting, TMI was informed that it was not necessary to submit copies of the raw field data sheets, but that this information should be kept in the TMI files in the event that the CDRMS determined that they needed to review this information. In this evaluation, the vegetation factors of production, plant cover, species diversity, and shrub density were sampled. The results were used to help assess the baseline conditions of the vegetation communities in PR -7. After the field sampling was completed, the finalized vegetation mapping and the preliminary vegetation sampling results were discussed and conceptually approved in a meeting with Mr. Dan Hernandez and Mr. Jared Ebert of CDRMS at Trapper Mine on November 12, 2014. 2.2.1 Transect Locations To ensure that every polygon of each plant community within the PR -7 Mine Expansion Area had an equal chance of being sampled, each vegetation type, often consisting of multiple polygons, was treated as a single sample unit using a randomized block sampling design. The mapped vegetation polygon data were re -projected to the 1927 Colorado State Plane South Zone (NAD 27) coordinate system in GIS. The state plane coordinate system uses feet as the base map unit for distance, which was compatible with TMI's existing datasets and which facilitated calculating accurate distances and areas for this project. Once the boundaries of the vegetation types were identified, random coordinates were generated for the transect start points in the sampling areas. These coordinates were then entered into the GPS unit and