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III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />999 <br />BASELINE OVERBURDEN ASSESSMENT PLAN <br />YOAST STUDY AREA <br />March, 1990 <br />Int raduc tion <br />The Yoast coal recovery area, comprising about 400 acres, is located 4.5 miles southwest <br />of Seneca II Mine and 3 miles east of the Seneca II-W permit area. The proposed Wadge <br />coal recovery area, including the cropline and recovery line, is outlined on the enclosed <br />1"=400' scale topographic base map. <br />Peabody Coal Company proposes to utilize a two phase overburden sampling program for the <br />Yoast study area. Similar phased sampling techniques have been described by USDA (7979), <br />Barrett et al. (1960), Dollhopf et al. (1981), Barth et al. (1981), MDSL (1983), Dollhopf <br />(1983), and WDEO (1985), and used effectively by Peabody Coal Company (1987 and 1988). <br />Phased drilling programs can decrease overburden characterization cost substantially <br />without jeopardizing the quality of data obtained. <br />The following tasks will be accomplished during the two phases of overburden analysis: <br />Phase I: The existing overburden data from six site locations were reviewed and <br />analyzed, potential chemical and physical problems were identified, and general <br />areas/strata of suitable and unsuitable overburden were outlined. <br />Phase II: four additional sampling locations are recononended for the Yoast study <br />area. This program is proposed to accurately characterize the extent of suitable and <br />unsuitable material. Constituents which approached or exceeded guideline levels <br />during the Phase I sampling are recommended to be included on the Phase II analyses <br />list. Modifying the second phase parameter list is desirable to reduce unwarrantable <br />analyses costs and to focus on local site-specific conditions. <br /> <br />Sampling Intensity <br />Most overburden sampling and analysis studies indicate that drilling designs should be <br />governed by geological factors, such as the lithologic variability and the depositional <br />environment of the overburden strata (Barth et al., 1981). Barrett et al. (1980) states <br />that drilling designs and hole spacings must be determined on the basis of the unique set <br />1 <br />