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Section 780.16 (a) Continued. Revised 11/20/80 Tipple Area could be documented in connection with wildlife re- • sources on the Arapaho National iildlife Refuge. Zn support of the opinion of Mr. Patton, Britton (1979:88) sampled the Illinois River approximately one-half mile downstream from the Kerr Tipple and concluded that the agricultural activities of cattle grazing, irrigation and timber production were the predominate land use patterns impacting water quality. Moreover, site-specific data collected by Kerr Coal on the che- mistry of the soil at the Kerr Tipple, the coal being crushed and the water chemistry upstream and downstream from the Kerr Tipple I~ suggests that impacts on waterfowl from fugitive dust and runoff from the Kerr Tipple should be minimal. Comparison of the data in Table 7, Sudduth Coal Seam Analysis, with data on the overburden chemistry data presented in Table 4, Statistical Description of Overburden Chemical Data, and with existing soils characteristics for the Kerr Tipple Area (Table 45, Soil, Chemical and Physical Properties Lab Analysis Kerr Tipple Area) indicate that the coal has a lower potential for increasing salinity (E.C. and SAR) than do natural topsoils or overburden from this area. Trace elements Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb and Ni are all lower in the coal (Table 7) than in existing geologic strata (Table 4) of this area. In addition, reference to the water quality data presented in Table 10, Kerr Tipple Area Water Quality Data, discloses that no adverse impacts on the water quality of the Illinois River is occurring as a result of the operation of the Kerr Tipple. Furthermore, the water quality values obtained downstream from the Kerr Tipple Area do not exceed the threshhold values recommended by the EPA 1972 Water Quality Criteria (Handbook) for fresh water aquatic life and wildlife. In summary, based upon the chemistry of the coal and the soils at the Kerr Tipple, the water quality data and the observations of Mr. 780-42 bb