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West Elk Mine <br />• tributary to the Third West seals is about 2 gpm, compared to the 18 to 30 gpm observed by <br />Bear. The outflow tributary to the Second West bleeder seals would be less than 0.5 gpm. <br />W WE also performed flow path analyses for inflows observed within the Beaz Mine. The water <br />emerging from the Third West seals, the only water reported in 1995, would not flow to the base <br />of the Beaz Mine's C-seam to B Seam slopes, but rather to the extreme northeast corner of the <br />mine. Water in this location could not possibly have entered the Edwards Mine or contributed to <br />the Edwazds Portal flows that emerged neaz the toe of the new landslide activity in November <br />1997. Only water emerging from the Second West bleeder seals would be tributary to the base of <br />the slopes, where it could enter the Edwazds Mine only after traveling through another unmined <br />coal block sepazating the Beaz No. 3 B Seam mine from the abandoned Edwazds Mine. <br />Given the orientation of the BEM and 14HG faults, MCC has considered the potential for <br />downgradient migration of groundwater stored in the proposed Box Canyon sealed sump towazd the <br />abandoned B Seam workings of the Sanborn Creek Mine (a B Seam mine on the north side of the <br />North Fork that is no longer active). The very low permeability of the coal seams and <br />surrounding formations suggest that very limited downgradient movement of water from the <br />sealed sump is likely. Projections of the BEM and 14HG fault systems show that, if they were to <br />extend across the North Fork, they would not intersect any of the B Seam workings of the <br />Sanborn Creek Mine (i.e., projections are to the east of the mine workings) and therefore unlikely <br />to be a receiver of water contained in or stored over these fault systems. These fault zones do, <br />however, project into the F Seam workings of the Hawks Nest Mine (east of the Sanborn Creek <br />. Mine) which neither encountered these faults zones nor experienced any significant groundwater <br />inflows. MCC believes that the water-bearing BEM and 14HG fault systems aze unique to West <br />Elk Mine and, as a result, do not extend any significant distance away from the permit area. As a <br />result, the proposed storage of water within the Box Canyon Sealed Sumps is not expected to <br />increase groundwater inflows within the abandoned downgradient mine workings primarily due to <br />the low permeability of the coal and the lack of hydraulic connection between the mines via the <br />fault systems. <br />Potential Impact of NW and NE Panels Sealed Sumps on F Seam Workings <br />WWE has evaluated the potential for water stored in the NW and NE Panels sealed sumps to <br />impact the abandoned F Seam workings. This analysis showed that the maximum build-up of <br />water, or rise of water level or water elevation, in the sumps would be less than 150 feet. Since the <br />F Seam is approximately 400 feet above the B Seam, there will not be any water transmitted from <br />the sumps to the F Seam workings. <br />It should be noted that there is no lazge capacity sumping occurring, nor has any occurred in the F <br />Seam mine workings. This is because there is only limited F Seam groundwater inflows (locations <br />discussed below), limited physical space in which to store this water, and the dip of the workings is <br />unfavorable for storage (i.e., water would flow down-dip and out of the mined panels). <br /> <br />1.05-288 RevisedJ,me 2005 PRIO; Rev. March 2006; Rev. May 2006 PRIO <br />