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• • ~~ <br />6. Impacts <br />Air Resources <br />The air resource is impacted by blastiny operations and dust <br />associated with excavation, hauling and preparation of the coal. <br />Blasting operations will result in increased noise levels and <br />there will be possible damage to existing structures at the mine <br />due to air blast and ground vibration. However, the applicant <br />has proposed to properly control blasting to minimize impacts. <br />Adverse impacts to the human population will be mitigated through <br />access control, proper warning signals, and monitoring of <br />blasting events so as to reduce the amount of fugitive dust <br />generated at any one time. <br />Air quality in the immediate vicinity of the actively mined <br />area and the preparation facilities will be degraded during the <br />life of the mine. Typically, haulage roads are one of the prime <br />offenders in air quality degradation because of the noise and <br />dust associated with hauling coal from the pits to the prepara- <br />tion facilities. Operation practices at the mine will serve to <br />mitigate some of the dust by proper maintenance of road surfaces, <br />restriction of vehicle speeds and prompt stabilization of dis- <br />turbed areas exposed to erosion hazards. <br />Hydrologic Balance <br />Although a relatively small area will be disturbed Eby mining <br />operations and associated activities, the potential exists for <br />adversely impacting the hydrologic balance unless proper controls <br />and monitoring stations are installed. The applicant has pro- <br />posed a sedimentation control plan that consists of diversions <br />and sediment ponds. Culverts will be installed in diversions as <br />road crossings. It is vital that these control structures be <br />constructed properly or they may actually work against the <br />purpose for which they were designed: i.e. an underdesigned <br />-3- <br />