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The New Horizon Mine is located just northwest of the town of Nucla in the mildly sloping upland <br /> area between Tuttle Draw and Calamity Draw, in the northwest corner of First Park. The surface <br /> water system is characterized by a "disjointed" tributary drainage system almost completely <br /> controlled by return flow ditches of the local irrigation network. <br /> Flows in Calamity Draw, which is roughly parallel to the southern boundary of the New Horizon <br /> Mine, generally reflect local irrigation practices. The perennial flow nature of both Tuttle and <br /> Calamity Draws is largely due to the local irrigation practices. Over the years, this more or less <br /> constant source of water in these drainage systems has encouraged the growth of vegetation. This <br /> has resulted in the channels becoming more erosionally stable but more incised. <br /> Surface water monitoring practices and frequencies are described within the permit application. <br /> Also see Findings Section B, Item II E, of this document for a summary of surface and ground <br /> water monitoring practices to which Elk Ridge Mining and Reclamation, LLC has committed. <br /> D. Ground Water <br /> The New Horizon Mine lies in a ground water basin defined by the Nucla Syncline. This broad <br /> northwest trending syncline is recharged along the Uncompahgre uplift to the northeast and <br /> discharges southwest toward the major rivers flowing through the area. <br /> Near surface ground water in the Nucla area is partially recharged by irrigation return flow through <br /> Quaternary aeolian and alluvial deposits. The lower Dakota and underlying Morrison Formations <br /> are regional aquifers, although water from the Dakota Formation is not heavily utilized due to its <br /> high salinity. The Morrison Formation water is widely used for stock and domestic wells. <br /> Ground water within 150 feet of the ground surface has been only minimally developed for use in <br /> the Nucla area. High salinities and occasionally high sodium or sulfate concentrations preclude <br /> its use as domestic, agricultural or stock water. In addition, moderate hydraulic conductivities are <br /> coupled with low sustained well yields (less than 1.5 gpm), discouraging sustained dependence on <br /> wells completed within these aquifers. <br /> E. Soils <br /> There were three major soils types in the original 220-acre New Horizon Mine area: Progresso- <br /> Bond Complex, Barx—Barx, scalped—Barx,buried complex, and Lithic-Typic Haplaquolls. The <br /> Progresso-Bond complex is comprised of 40 percent Progresso,40 percent Bond, 10 percent Barx, <br /> 5 percent Travesilla, and 5 percent Bowdish series soils. The Progresso series is classified as a <br /> fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Ustollic Haplargid. The Bond series is a loamy, mixed, mesic Lithic <br /> Ustollic Haplargid. The main difference between these two is the distance to bedrock; Bond soils <br /> are shallow (17 to 19 inches to bedrock) while Progresso soils are fairly deep (36 inches to <br /> bedrock). Barx soil is found in the southeast corner, primarily within Mapping Unit D70B. It is <br /> classified as a fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Ustollic Haplargid. It is a deep,well-drained sandy loam <br /> formed in sandstone derived alluvium. <br /> In association with Permit Revision No. 5 (PR-5), a new soil survey encompassing approximately <br /> 5 <br />