PERMFILE43748 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Methane Drainage Wells Project Plan Technical Revision 103; MDWs 20-04, 20-05, 21-05, 21-06 Page 3 of 12 Initial geological work, in this area was, completed by W. T. Lee (1912), who reported his findings in, "Coal Fields of Grand Mesa and the West Elk Mountains, Colorado" (USGS Bulletin 510). Later in 1948, Ward H. Johnson published a USGS map of the Paonia Coal Field incorporating drill hole data generated through a USGS and U.S. Bureau of Mines drilling program. The following year Johnson further described the geology of the Minnesota Creek azea in USBM Technical Paper 721. More recently, in 1989, C. R. Dunrud compiled a coal resources map of the region (USGS Map C-115). In 1998 the Colorado Geological Survey published, "Availability of Coal Resources in Colorado: Somerset Quadrangle, West-Central Colorado (CGS Resource Series 36)". The general stratigraphy of the area consists of members of the Mesa Verde Formation of the Upper Cretaceous System underlying the Wasatch Formation of Tertiary Age. The Barren Member of the Mesa Verde formation crops out lowest in the area with the overlying Ohio Creek member exposed along many of the steeper slopes. Above the Mesa Verde, rocks of the Wasatch Formation are exposed. The Upper and Lower Coal Members of the Mesa Verde Formation are the major coal-bearing units in the azea. The A (King), B (Somerset), and C (Beaz) coal beds of the Lower Coal Member and the D (Oliver), E (Hawks Nest), and the F-Seam coal beds of the Upper Coal Member have all been mined within the North Fork Valley. General dip in azea of the methane drainage project drilling is 3 to 4 degrees to the northeast. Stratigraphic displacements and faults aze known to occur in West Elk Mine. Known geologic data does not indicate that these faults are locatable on the surface. WATER RESOURCES The town of Paonia is situated about 10 miles west of the area and receives an average of approximately 15 inches of precipitation annually. Given that precipitation increases as elevation increases, the annual precipitation at the proposed well sites would be expected to be somewhat higher than that received at Paonia. An estimated 75% of the annual precipitation occurs during late winter and eazly spring, mostly as snowfall. June, July, and August are often the driest months. Drainage from the well pads for the proposed project primarily enters the Box Canyon drainage that is a tributary of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. No riparian, wetland or stream habitat will be affected by drilling activities. The access road will be constructed in accordance with CDMG light-use road requirements. The alternate sediment controls used for the drill pads will consist of a slash, silt fence or straw wattles placed on the out slopes of the pad. The demonstration that the alternative sediment control measures meet the limitations of Rule 4.05.2 and 4.05.5 are contained in the attached SEDCAD results that were run for 0.5-, 1.0- and 2.0-acre typical pad sites. VEGETATION