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and drains the entire Cross Mine area watershed. Coon Track Creek is a tributary of <br /> Beaver Creek, which flows into Middle Boulder Creek above Barker Reservoir. Coon Track <br /> Creek exhibits steady low flows year-round below the mine site due to discharges from <br /> the Cross and Caribou mines, with high flows during snowmelt runoff. <br /> Waters of the U.S., including associated wetlands, were surveyed within the proposed site <br /> boundary and plotted by a Professional Wetland Scientist for Walsh Environmental using a <br /> Trimble XT(hand-held GPS unit with ESRI ARC Pad mobile mapping software) and total <br /> 1.94-acres (84,506 sq.ft.).This wetland survey is shown on the Site Map, Figure 1 above. <br /> A Jurisdictional Determination was approved by US Army Corps of Engineer (US ACE) on <br /> February 7, 2008, and the approval letter is provided in Attachment II. No wetlands will be <br /> disturbed by the proposed activities until appropriate approvals are obtained from the US <br /> ACE. <br /> Coon Track Creek is characterized by steep side slopes and a rocky channel bottom. In the <br /> upper and mid-reaches of the creek, the presence of wetland habitat is nominal and only <br /> extends beyond the banks in a few isolated, low-lying areas. Two man-made, plastic <br /> lined ponds flank the north and west sides of the mining complex. The pond fringes are <br /> devoid of vegetation but have been determined to be jurisdictional by the U.S. Army <br /> Corps of Engineers as they are hydrologically connected to the creek downstream <br /> through a series of PVC pipes. Below the mine structures, the creek meanders along a <br /> narrow ravine before exiting the property through a Boulder County maintained culvert <br /> under the Cross Mine access road. Wetland habitat associated with the downstream <br /> reaches is limited to the riparian corridor and to a wet meadow area on the north bank <br /> that is situated just east of pond #2 and extends into the adjacent aspen woodland. <br /> The primary source of hydrology for wetlands is provided by up-slope runoff and flows <br /> from the creek. Flows from the Idaho Tunnel are directed into pond #2 and contribute to <br /> wetland hydrology in the lower half of the property. Secondary sources are provided by <br /> naturally occurring side slope seeps, snowmelt and precipitation events. <br /> Groundwater Resources: <br /> The proposed mine and its expansion area are not impacted by designated floodplains, <br /> because the site is located very near the headwaters of Coon Track Creek. Mining will be as <br /> presented in the original mine permit application. No impacts to ground water due to the <br /> proposed site modifications are expected. <br /> Groundwater at the site is generally controlled by drainage out of the existing mine adits <br /> which report to two ponds for the addition of lime and discharge to Coon Track Creek <br />