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Andrew P. Schissler -2- by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board on P1ar graphic extent of the exempted operation must be de standards described above for the Eagle No. 5 mine. Eagle No. 9 mine, the Division has identified mine Colorado Division of Mines prior to August 3, 1977, for defining the geographic extent of the exempted January 21~, 1981 ch 24, 1977. Th'e geb- fined according Ito the . In the case of~ the maps submitted to the which meet the criteria operations. Surface coal mining operations identified as the Eagle No. 6 mine, Eagle No. 7 mine, and Eagle No. 8 mine, do not appear eligible for the exemption allowed under Section 114(2)(e)(II). Information is not available in the submission, from the Colorado Division of Mines, from the United States Geological Survey, from the Mining Safety and Health Administration, nor from the files of the Mined Land Reclamation Division to demonstrate that the Eagle No. 6 mine, Eagle No. 7 mine, or Eagle No. 8 mine meets the coal production or permit approval criteria required by Section 114(2)(e)(II). 2. As stated in C.R.S. 1973, 34-33-114(2)(e)(II), surface coal mining opera- tions meeting the coal production or permit approval criteria are exempted from the requirement of Section 114(2)(e.)-(-L~. In essence, an exemption allows permit approv~and therefore acEess to the coal resource without requiring the applica t to affirmatively demonstrate or requiring the Division to make a written determination that~the proposed surface coal mining operations would not interrupt, discontinue or preclude farming on alluvial valley floors that are irrigated or naturally sub~irrigated, or, that the operations would not materially damage the quantity/or quality of surface water or ground water systems that supply the alluvial valley floor. Since an exemption is only effA.ative for the requirements of Section 114(2)(e) (I), exempted surface coal minir{~ operations must meet the remaining require- ments of the Act regarding the~pr@@tection of alluvial valley floors, i.e. be designed to prevent material ~amag~~to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area (114(2)(c)) and preserve throughout the mining and reclamation process the essential hydrologic func~~ions of alluvial valley floors (120(2) (j)(vi)). To demonstrate compliance, or the exempted Eagle No. 5 and Eagle ~ - No. 9 mines, Empire Energy must identify all alluvial valley floors in or adjacent to the permit area, identify the essential hydrologic functions of these alluvial valley floors, and demonstr~ to how the essential hydrologic functions would be pre~erved throughout the mining and reclamation process. Rule 2.06.8(3) and 2.6.8(4) of the "Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board fob Coal Mining" describe these requirements.: In addition, the Office of Surface Mining's June 11, 1980,~draft technical guidance document, "Alluvial Valley Floor Guidelines", contains a narrative discussion of these requirements and ,methodologies for compliance. Baseline information collected by Empire, described in Section 4.3.5 of the existing permit, File No. 79-190, approved on March 27, 1980 by the Mined Land Reclamation Board, should provide some of the data necessary to demonstrate compliance with the referenced re- quirements of the Act. Additional information referenced by various Division memos, dating from February 7, 1980, discussing the alluvial valley floor issue as it relates to Empire Energy's situation, should also supplement the data necessary to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Act. In order for Empire Energy to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of I the Act protecting alluvial valley floors for the non-exempted Eagle No. 6 '• mine, Eagle No. 7 mine, and Eagle No. 8 mine, a permit application must ,.