Laserfiche WebLink
Section I -Mine History and the Environment <br /> Mine Status and History <br /> Description of the Environment <br /> The Peabody Sage Creek Mine (PSCM) is an underground mine located in Routt County, approximately <br /> 9 miles southeast of the town of Hayden, Colorado. The Peabody Sage Creek Mine is currently in <br /> temporary cessation status. When the mine was established it utilized continuous miners for entry and <br /> development work. The permit area encompasses approximately 10,164 acres of which 1,766.4 acres <br /> were previously disturbed and portions reclaimed by Seneca Coal Company(SCC) under the Seneca II <br /> Mine (CDRMS permit C- 1980 -005). With the reduction in the proposed disturbance acreage associated <br /> with the approval of MR-13, the total disturbance acreage is 146.41 acres (79.56 acres of previous <br /> permanent program disturbance that had been bond released and will be re-disturbed, 52.6 acres of new <br /> disturbance under the original permit submittal, and 14.25 acres of new disturbance associated with <br /> revisions subsequent to the original permit submittal). <br /> The permit area varies in elevation from 6,600'to 7,800'with the portal openings at 6,690' along Little <br /> Grassy Creek. The main mine facilities lie in Sections 2 and 3, Township 5 North, Range 8 West and <br /> Sections 27, 34, and 35, Township 6 North, Range 87 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, and are <br /> located adjacent to an active surface mine excavated originally by Seneca Coal Company' s ( SCC) <br /> surface mining operation (Permit No. C- 1980 -005). <br /> The post- mining land uses are rangeland, recreational use, and wildlife habitat. <br /> The Sage Creek Mine permit does not include a variance under Rules 2.06. 2 (experimental practices), <br /> 2.06.3 (mountaintop removal), and 2.06.5 (approximate original contour(AOC) for steep slope mining). <br /> No variance from contemporaneous reclamation for combined surface and underground mining <br /> operations (2.06.7) is needed due to the fact that the Seneca II Mine ceased operations in 1999 and has <br /> been reclaimed; the excavated pit accessing the Wadge Seam to construct mine portals and other <br /> facilities to support an underground mine is not considered surface mining; and the Peabody Sage Creek <br /> Mine reclamation bond includes any remaining facilities from the Seneca II Mine. <br /> Topography <br /> The proposed PSCM permit area is located in the Yampa Coal Field, on the southern margin of the Sand <br /> Wash Basin in the foothills of the Williams Fork Mountains. The Williams Fork Mountains extend <br /> about 30 miles from east to west across northwestern Colorado. Elevations in the permit area and <br /> adjacent areas are between 6,600 feet and 7,800 feet. The average elevation of the permit area is <br /> approximately 7,040 feet. Most of the permit area is covered by rolling hills with agricultural fields and <br /> rangeland. These low hills extend to higher elevation ridges and steep slopes in the eastern and <br /> southwestern parts of the permit area. The perennially flowing Grassy Creek crosses the permit area <br /> OF CO10 <br /> e <br /> 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215, Denver, CO 80203 P 303.866.3567 I `�' O <br /> �`1876� <br />