APPCOR12906

• Permit No: C1980003
• IBM Index Class Name: Application Correspondence
• Doc Date: 11/23/1981
• Doc Name: PROPOSED DECISION AND FINDING OF COMPLIANCE & Letter
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

-IS-
The loadout has existed on the Dry Creek valley floor since early 1978 and was
previously permitted by the Colorado Alined Land Reclamation Division. The area
of the valley floor affected by the disturbance comprises approximately 4% of
the area of unconsolidated alluvial deposits in the valley. None of the distur-
bance impinges upon the area of irrigated agriculture indicated by the applicant.
No Further disturbance is planned for this operation. Because of the small
area involved and because the disturbance is contained with a sediment control
system, there will be no significant effect of the operation on the integrity
of the surrounding agricultural activity.
2. Pursuant to Rule 2.~6.R(5)(ii), the Division finds that the proposed surface
coal mining operations will not materially damage the quantity and quality of
water in surface and underground water systems that supply those alluvial
valley floors or portions of alluvial valley floors.
!dater quantity and quality in the Dry Creek drainage can be affected by the
mining oneration in two ways. First, the operation involves the diverting
of runoff from a small section of the Dry Creek watershed. As indicated pre-
viously, the area removed is only .~~27, of the total drainage area in Dry Creek.
The removal of this area will be insignificant with respect to potential effects
on water quantity in Dry Creek, and the effect on water quality after the area
is reclaimed and restored into the drainage will he minimal.
Second, the operation will have an effect on the quality and quantity of ground
caater in the area. This will result from the impact on the springs that dis-
charge into the Dry Creek drainage.
Discharge from springs in Dry Creek has been measured at slightly over .2
gallons per minute (Table 1, page 8, Appendix R, Volume VII). It is suggested
by the applicant that the combined flow from the springs would not exceed 1.0
gallon per minute. The significance of the decrease in flow of this magnitude
is minimal.
Degradation in the quality of water in Dry Creek as a result of changes in caater
quality of the springs caould also be insignificant for the same reason. The
small quantity of water discharged will be diluted docanstream as other Dry
Creek tributaries enter the system.
The loadout disturbance caill interrupt only .DDOF% of the Dry Creek drainage.
This amount of area excluded from the drainage area results in a minimum impact
with respect to the quantity of water in Dry Creek.
Impacts on surface water quality due to the loadout disturbance will he minimal
because of the size of the area with respect to the potential contribution to
surface flora in Dry Creek. Further, data provided by the applicant indicates
that the coal stockpiled at the loadout does not contain any chemical con-
stituents at high enough concentrations to be of concern caith respect to
contamination of surface caater. Surface caater effects caill be monitored during
and after mining by surface monitoring stations on Dry Creek upstream and down-
stream of the disturbance to verify this conclusion.