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Soils <br />The soils within the permit area consist of shallow to very deep clays and clay loams which are <br />suitable as a plant growth medium. The largest soils quantities will consist of a Falfa clay loam and <br />some Zyme-Rock outcrop complex. The Ustollic Haplargrids Series can be salvaged, however, it <br />occurs sporadically in pockets of sandstone and is sandy, gravelly, and cobbly. Some Ustic <br />torriorthents soils exist but only in depths of 3 inches or less and will be diluted with broken <br />sandstone and therefore cannot be reliably stripped. <br />Wildlife and Land Use <br />There has been no grazing on the site since 1979. The current land uses are dryland wheat farming <br />and wildlife use. <br />The Colorado Division of Wildlife considers the proposed permit area to be a part of the region's <br />critical winter range for deer and elk. <br />Descriotion of the Oaeration and Reclamation Plan <br />Operations <br />The proposed permit area is located approximately 2 1/2 miles southeast of Durango, Colorado, with <br />access from U.S. Highway 550-160 on an existing haul road which was constructed by Pueblo Coal <br />Company. <br />The mine will be a surface mine with private and federal mineral and surface ownership. The <br />proposed permit area is 248.39 acres MOL and includes 34.5 acres for a gravel pit operation. The <br />life of mine is estimated at five years. The planned disturbance areas include the above mentioned <br />gravel pit, 73.5 acres for the pit and fill area, and 30.75 acres for the multiple use gravel and coal <br />equipment and storage facilities area. <br />The production method of the coal operations will be struck-and-shoveUloader operation augmented <br />by scrapers and dozers as needed. Facilities include: mobile office and scale house, portable scales, <br />mobile change and shower facility, portable explosive storage and detonator vans, fresh water well <br />and storage tank. Surface facilities include a coal haul road and several light duty and access roads, <br />a coal storage and waste storage area, and an equipment storage area. <br />The mining method is an open pit style surface mining method where three seams dip at an angle of <br />25 to 30 degrees and outcrop in anortheast/southwest direction across hill and valley arrangements. <br />The planned pit covers an area of 36.75 acres and is bounded on three sides by the economic limits <br />of the planned pit. The pit has a maximum highwall of 250 feet and uses anout-of-pit fill for portions <br />of the overburden until asteady-state pit is developed. The anticipated production is 300,000 tons <br />per year. <br />tz <br />