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ventilation air, and less than 0.5 million gallons is lost through seepage into the floor of the <br />mine. <br />Surface Water <br />The Bowie No. 1 Mine area will not significantly affect the local surface water hydrology <br />or the regional hydrology. Sediment control measures will ensure protection to stream <br />quality. No mine water will discharge from the portals and no water will be withdrawn <br />from the creek. An overland ditch will divert water into West Roatcap Creek thus <br />bypassing the Bowie No. 1 West Mine site. Clean water diversions above the main <br />facilities minimize surface water runoff through the site. Mine inflows under and adjacent <br />to the creek are predicted to be insignificant. A brief discussion of sediment control <br />measures, subsidence impact mitigation, surface water inflow predictions and water <br />augmentation plans follow. <br />The Bowie No. 1 mine plan is designed to minimize the impacts of the project on the <br />surface water hydrology of the region. Disturbed area drainage from the East Mine <br />benches, parking area, west portal fill, and loadout site is co llected and treated on the site. <br />Four sediment ponds collected disturbed area drainage from the mine benches. Another <br />pond controlled sediment generated by the underground developmentwaste pile. One pond <br />controlled drainage from the run -of -mine stockpile area, and two ponds collect drainage <br />from the disturbed areas of the loadout, truck scales, and highway coal stockpile area. The <br />West Mine portal bench area drained to one sedimentation pond except for exempted <br />portions of the fill face which had a small area exemption waiver. With the reclamation <br />work at the West Mine portal bench area, the backfilled and graded area nowdrains to two <br />sedimentation ponds. A system of lined and unlined ditches conveys waters from the <br />disturbed areas to the ponds. The mine operator has applied for and/or obtained the <br />appropriate NPDES permits. Effluent quality from the sedimentation ponds will be <br />monitored to determine permit compliance. The BRL SL -6 Bond Release Application <br />utilized a vegetation cover evaluation performed during October of 2016 and subsequent soil <br />loss comparison submitted as a part of Technical Revision No. 62 as justification to remove <br />and reclaim the Gob Pile Pond, Binwall Pond 1, Binwall Pond 2, Binwall Pond 3 and Binwall <br />Pond 4. The soil loss information compares pre- and post -mining sediment yields by <br />calculating the expected sediment yields for both conditions. BRL utilized the Universal Soil <br />Loss Equation (LISLE) calculation method which calculates the expected average annual soil <br />loss per acre of land. It was observed during the bond release inspection that the revegetated <br />areas were not contributing sediment to the backfilled and regraded pond areas above pre - <br />mining levels. <br />Subsidence effects have the potential to impact any or all springs, seeps, and ponds within <br />the affected permit area. In order to protect water resources but still allow mining, the <br />operator has developed a subsidence damage preventative mine plan, subsidence repair <br />procedures, a water replacement plan, and an intensive monitoring system. <br />The mine plan had been designed to preclude mining in certain critical areas where water <br />rights exist. For example, the north extreme of East Roatcap Creek was not undermined to <br />prevent impacts to certain water rights. In areas where the overburden depth was less than <br />26 <br />