2024-06-03_PERMIT FILE - M2023038

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GBEA 2 1. Per Rule 6.3.2, is any monitoring data available for the two streams within 200 feet of the affected lands?What is the estimated depth to groundwater? Both Waggoner Draw and West Douglas Creek are classified as intermittent. In the experience of both the management of Twin Buttes Land Company and Great Basin Environmental and Aquatics, West Douglas Creek is dry in a general sense below the confluence with West Creek for much of the summer during an average or drier water year. The stream flow is driven by the following: snowmelt (spring runoff), storm events with rapidly rising and falling stream flow (e.g. summer thunder storms), and the timing and variability of irrigation of various pastures and hay ground upstream. There is no known stream monitoring data available within the vicinity of the pit (e.g. 200 ft). This lack of data includes both stream flow and water quality. The hyporheic zone and the interface with the ground water, remains an unknown in both depth and lateral extent. Given that the system at this location is subject to long periods of dryness, storm events that are flashy in nature, and a spring run off of only a couple of months duration, there likely is only minimal recharge of groundwater by the stream. This could potentially indicate a very limited, perched, groundwater system associated with West Douglas Creek and the pit,that varies substantially over time. The southeastern base of the high walls elevation is 6239 (ft) and the streambed elevation at the culvert under HWY 139 is 6221 (ft), a difference of 18 ft. As previously stated, the relationship between stream flow and the hyporheic zone/groundwater relationship is unknown, thus the 18 ft may be relatively meaningless. There are four natural gas wells upstream from the Wagner Pit situated on the canyon floor (0.75-1.25 miles). The well logs associated with those wells might have provided a surrogate for the depth of groundwater. The information available on the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission website, was insufficient concerning the ground water depth. Table 1. Wells Natural Gas Wells On the Canyon Floor South of Wagner Pit NAD 83 UTM Zone 12N Well Name Location Name Status API Eastinq Northing 24-2 FEDERAL FEDERAL-63S102W PA 10307814 689515 6 4404388.3 24SWSE ANDERSON GOV 01 ANDERSON GOV 01 PA 10307082 689804.5 4404489 9 21348 21348-63S102W U S A U S A-63S102W 24SESE PA 10305045 6898511 4 4404188.9 BOX 668 GOV BOX 668 GOV-63S101W PA 10307156 6898511.4 4404358.2 19SWSW One should note that the sandstone of the south facing High Wall and hill slope averages 650 feet thick and the associated coal units 450 feet. See: Barnum B.E., Scott Jr. R.W., Pantea M.P., 1997. Geologic and Structure Map of The Texas Mountain Quadrangle, Rio Blanco County, Colorado. 1:24,000, and Cashion. W. B. 1973. Geologic and Structure Map of The Grand Junction Quadrangle, Colorado and Utah. 1:250,000 Wagner Pit#M2023038,Owner& Operator: Twin Buttes Land Co LLC Wednesday, May 29, 2024