2018-09-04_PERMIT FILE - C1980007A (45)

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West Elk Mine from its confluence with Minnesota Creek and about 0.2 miles south of the permit area and more than a half mile from planned mining. It is owned and operated by the Beaver Reservoir Company. Records of the SEO show that the reservoir has a decreed capacity of 1,620.20 acre-feet of which 551.70 acre-feet is a conditional decree. The source of water for the reservoir is runoff from Mount Gunnison. Leakage from Beaver Reservoir has caused the SEO to restrict its storage capacity. This leakage causes minor springs to occur in the outcropping bedrock along the downstream banks of East Fork and below the toe of the dam. Leakage is most noticeable in the spring when the reservoir is at its maximum storage capacity. The yield of Beaver Reservoir has been tabulated by the SEO (1978) for the 28-year period from 1950 through 1977. During this period, the average reservoir yield was approximately 680 acre-feet per year. In addition to the two storage reservoirs in the area of the West Elk Mine, a total of 61 stock water impoundments have been identified in or adjacent to the permit area. Map 37 illustrates the locations of the known stock water ponds. Stock water ponds are typically found in drainages or below identified springs where surface water can be collected. These ponds, for the most part, do not represent adjudicated water rights or perennial flows. Within the Gunnison National Forest,the ponds are managed for seasonal use only by the U.S.Forest Service. Wetlands Based upon inspection of conventional and infrared aerial photographs and reconnaissance-level field investigation, there are approximately 7 acres of wetlands(as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE]) in the permit area. Field surveys conducted in August 1995 verified this estimate. Most of the wetlands are found in drainage channels, although there are small, isolated wetlands on the hillsides where springs and seeps occasionally emerge as a result of landslides/slumps. WWE inventoried the wetlands and riparian zones within the South of Divide area in the fall of 1996 and again in the fall of 2004. Based on these studies, there are approximately 42 acres of wetlands in the South of Divide permit area. Wetlands occur in four types of locations: (1) Along the channel bottoms, (2) In association with beaver activity, (3) At seeps or springs, and (4) Along the margins of stock ponds. The vast majority of the wetland acreage is located along the Dry Fork and Lick Creek riparian corridors. For additional information regarding wetlands, refer to Section 2.05.6 and Exhibit 32B of this document. Baseline Monitoring Program This section discusses the program that MCC has implemented to monitor the water resources in the permit area. Many of the monitoring stations have been gaged for years and,consequently,have established the baseline hydrologic regime of the resource in accordance with CDRMS regulations. At least one year (per Table 10) of baseline data will be provided to CDRMS prior to longwall mining under or within the angle-of-draw of a monitored water resource in the permit area. Monitoring data are also presented in the Annual Hydrology Reports. 2.04-84 Rev.11/04-PRIO,03/06-PRIO,04/06-PRIO,05/06-PRIG,09/07-PR12,02/08-PR12,08/18-PR15