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increased access in the East Roatcap drainage would not result in vandalism. Several of the other <br />sites have a very limited potential for subsidence damage, as they are found on the margins of the <br />angle of draw. <br />Climatological Information and Air Resources - Rules 2.04.8, 2.05.4(2)(h), 2.05.6(1), 4.17 <br />Climatological documentation is presented in Section 2.04 of Volume 1 and in the Climatology <br />and Wind Direction Appendix, Volume 9 of the PAP. BRL has also provided copies of all <br />emissions permits from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in Volume <br />9 of the PAP. Evaporation plan monitoring data are summarized in the Annual Hydrology Reports <br />Climatological data for the North Fork region is available from Paonia, three (3) miles due south <br />and 1,500 feet lower in elevation than the mine site. The average annual temperature is 49.0°F at <br />Paonia, with an average monthly mean of 24.5°F in January and 71.9°F in July. At Paonia, the <br />annual precipitation is 8 to 15 inches. <br />The local climate of the North Fork area is strongly influenced by microclimatic features - slope <br />aspect, elevation, soil type, soil moisture content and vegetation. The steepness of the terrain, <br />together with the type and amount of vegetation, orientation and range of elevation, are the major <br />controls of the diurnal wind patterns. T he shape and orientation of the North Fork valley is such <br />that the drainage (or katabatic) flow is the dominant flow for most hours of the day. Prevailing <br />winds are from the south-southeast, with wind speeds of ten (10) miles per hour occurring in June. <br />Below Paonia, the wind speed appears to decrease sharply as the air spreads over the IoNwr valley. <br />Because of this strong drainage wind, frost pockets are not allowed to form, thus creating a <br />favorable microclimate for fruit tree farming. <br />Geology - Rules 2.04.5 and 2.04.6(2) <br />Information on local and regional geology can be found in the PAP Section 2.04.6 of Volume 1. <br />Maps 2-1, 2-2, 2-7, 2-8, 2-11, 2-12 and 6A-8 identify pertinent geologic features. Waste rock <br />geochemical analyses can be found in Volume 6A. <br />BRL has mined the D seam of the Upper Coal member of the Mesaverde Formation. The seam <br />ranges in thickness from 2 to 21 feet in the permit area, with one split ranging in thickness from <br />15'/2 feet to several inches. The coal dips 4° to 7° to the northeast. Two high -angle, normal fault <br />zones are found in the area with displacement ranging between 1 and 50 feet (Map 2-8). The <br />earliest fault system trends N65°E and dips 70° to 80° with displacements of 2 to 6 feet. The other <br />fault system trends N35°W and dip 70° to 80°to the northeast. The geology is further modified in <br />the northeast corner of Lease C-37210 where coked coal gives evidence of igneous activity <br />associated with the Miocene Iron Point pluton. <br />The Somerset Coal Field lies on the southeast margin ofthe PiceanceBasin and just south of Grand <br />Mesa. The sedimentary strata exposed in the Somerset Coal Field dip at 3' to 5° to the north and <br />northeast, and range in age from late Cretaceous to early Tertiary. <br />Coal is produced from the Mesaverde Formation, a 2,500 -foot -thick sequence of sandstone, shale <br />and coals overlain by the Ohio Creek conglomerate and underlain by the Mancos Shale. The <br />