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<br />The Sudduth coal seam had two pumping tests run, one on a faulted area near <br />Bush Draw and another on an unfaulted area. The permeability of the faulted <br />area was calculated to range between I6.5 gpd/ft2 and 25.4 gpd/ft2 and was higher <br />than the unfaulted area which had a permeability ranging 3.8 gpd/ft2 and 9.0 gpd/ft2. <br />This permeability is sufficient to transmit and store water for limited beneficial <br />use yielding 10 to 40 gpm. <br />The entire outcrop and subcrop of the Sudduth coal seam in the mine plan and <br />adjacent areas comprises the recharge area for the coal seam. Snow melt provides <br />the majority of the recharge to the coal seam. The estimated recharge over the <br />entire coal seam was calculated to be 4.75 acre ft/year. No wells are located in <br />the Sudduth coal seam, and there is only one discharge point in the area, a <br />spring in the Old Sudduth Mine located in Section 15, T9N, R78W. This spring <br />does not provide sufficient water to be considered a significant water source. <br />There have been no other observed springs or seeps from the Sudduth coal seam in <br />the adjacent area. The Sudduth coal seam neither discharges to nor recharged by the <br />alluvium of Williams and Bush Draws. This is evident from water table elevations <br />contained on Map 15a and in Table 8a are Lower in the coal seam as compared with <br />adjacent alluvial wells. <br />B. General Background Tipple Area <br />The Kerr Sipple area is constructed on top of five feet of manmade fill placed <br />over Illinois River alluvium. The alluvium consists of sand and gravel in a <br />matrix of silt and clay, and is 25 feet thick in the area. Footings do not <br />penetrate the alluvium, thereby isolating surface waters from the alluvium. <br />The T1linois alluvium is fully saturated in the Tipple area .and-is.evident by the <br />swamp and standing water surrounding the area. This indicates that the Tipple <br />area is a ground water discharge area. <br />C. Effects of Mining on Ground Water <br />1. The proposed surface coal mining activities will effect the quality and <br />quantity of water recharging the Sudduth coal seam. However, the changes in <br />quantity and quality of water will not impact ground water use in the area. <br />No studies have been completed in the mine plan area to substantiate the <br />actual infiltration rate or the actual changes in water chemistry of disturbed <br />areas over the Sudduth coal seam. <br />Kerr Coal Company has estimated that there will be no change in the infil- <br />tration and recharge to the Sudduth coal seam. This estimation assumes that two <br />factors will balance one another. These two factors are a decrease in infiltration <br />on reclaimed surfaces as reported in a study by Lusby and Troy, 1976", and an <br />increase in infiltration resulting from an increased recharge area. To better <br />define the infiltration and recharge rate Kerr Coal Company has agreed to conduct <br />infiltration studies on the existing Marr Pit, and the other pits as they are <br />completed. A stipulation has been made which requests the submittal of the planned <br />infiltration study prior to implementation. <br />Water quality in the Sudduth coal seam is expected to be degraded from <br />the leaching of the spoil in the reclaimed pits. Kerr Coal expects leaching to <br />increase in total dissolved solids and change the ionic balance of the groundwater <br />They anticipate a change from a calcium-bicarbonate type baseline water to <br />sodium-bicarbonate and magnesium-sulfate water. This anticipated change in ionic <br />_11_ <br />