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<br />point 1, and as required by NPDES permit for point 2. Quality <br />parameters shall include potassium conductivity, sodium, sulfate, <br />chloride, calcium, magnesium, carbonate and bicarbonate. In <br />addition to NPDES parameters, testing will include TDS, pH, and <br />iron. <br />The only potential aquifer to be disturbed in the mine plan <br />area is the Sudduth Coal seam itself (p. h, Appendix C, Vol. II <br />of the permit application. Minimal amounts of groundwater may <br />also be present in the sandstone section immediately overlying <br />the coal, but the applicant has demonstrated with aquifer tests <br />(Appendix C) that all flow rates from both these sections are <br />extremely low. <br />Although the groundwater inflow from the overburden and coal <br />seams will be minimal (pages 95-97, Volume I of the permit appli- <br />cation), the applicant proposes to collect all inflow and route <br />it to sedimentation pond #1 for Pit 1 and pond #4 for Pit 2. The <br />applicant has stated that the major water-bearing zone, the Upper <br />Sandy Member of the Pierre Formation, will not be disturbed by <br />mining because it lies below the lowest coal seam to be mined and <br />is separated from the coal by the relatively impermeable silt- <br />stone layer. Through previous mining at the site, the applicant <br />states that even within known fracture and fault systems, no <br />problems with respect to groundwater flow into the pit from the <br />underlying sediments below the coal have been encountered (see <br />Chapter III of this TEA). <br />The applicant does not plan to conduct any mining in any <br />drainage area other than the Bolton Draw watershed, thereby <br />avoiding physical disruption of any alluvium other than that <br />which may be disturbed within the North Fork of Bolton Draw. The <br />Alluvial Valley Floor Section of this TEA details the extent of <br />mining impacts to alluvium. <br />-40- <br />