2018-09-04_PERMIT FILE - C1980007 (18)

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P MCC West Elk Mine Sunset Trail Lease Modifications 2011 Hydrology Survey 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ArkLand Company applied for modifications to Federal Coal Leases COC -1362 and COC - 67232 in 2010 (USFS, 2011). These modifications are known as the Sunset Trail Lease Modifications and would increase the present Mountain Coal Company (MCC) coal leases by 800 and 922 acres, respectively. The leases lie in portions of sections 10, 11, 13, 14, 22, and 23 of T14S, R90W 6th PM. The coal within these leases will be mined by the MCC West Elk Mine. The lease modification areas include U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest (GMUG). Approximately 1,450 acres of the modification area lies within the West Elk Inventoried Roadless Area (USFS, 2011). The coal leases located directly west of the Sunset Trail Lease Modification area are owned by Mt. Gunnison Fuel Company (MGFCO). The surface of the area west of the Sunset Trail Lease Modification area has multiple owners including MCC, Harold Grosse Living Trust, Delbert Kendall et al., Terry Vincent, Ronald Vincent, and Kandi and Gary Brownson. As part of the permitting process, MCC commissioned HydroGeo, Inc. (HydroGeo) to conduct a hydrology survey (Sunset Trail Spring Survey) to locate and measure flow volume and collect field water quality parameters for springs and seeps in the Sunset Trail Lease Modifications area. The Sunset Trail Spring Survey area encompasses both lease modification tracts (COC -1362 and COC -67232), as well as areas in the MGFCO lease tract to the west of COC -1362 and COC -67232 where mine access roads may cross. HydroGeo personnel conducted the spring and seep surveys in the fall of 2011. The information collected in the surveys is presented and summarized in this report. These data can be utilized as baseline data for future permitting and modification of the West Elk Mine hydrologic monitoring program. 2.0 METHODOLOGY The Sunset Trail Spring Survey was conducted from October 10 - 21, 2011. Fall is an ideal time to conduct these types of surveys, because surface water flows and groundwater levels are low, making it is easier to identify perennial springs and seeps, not seasonal springs that are the result of runoff or snowmelt. For the purposes of this survey, a spring will be defined as a clearly defined point where groundwater flows at the surface. A seep will be defined as an area naturally inundated or saturated by groundwater that generally does not have a well-defined source. Seepage originating from snowmelt, recent precipitation, ditches, creeks, irrigation or other human activities was not mapped. Prior to beginning the field work, existing information resources including aerial photographs, satellite imagery, springs marked on USGS 1:24,000 topographic maps, and other available data were used to help locate potential springs and seeps in the survey area. There are several known spring locations in areas adjacent to the west of the lease modification boundaries February 2012 HydroGeo, Inc