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the mining area on our lease. There can be, therefore. no <br />disruptive or detrimental effects of Sunland's mining <br />activity on ground water encountered in the Trout Creek <br />sandstone. <br />The Tow Creek sandstone lies below the ground surface <br />everywhere on our permit area, and does not outcrop within <br />our permit area. <br />Several unnamed massive sandstones occur intermingled <br />with the lower coal group. The cumulative results of <br />Sunland's drilling program coupled with a visual <br />examination of the outcrops on the north wall of the Trout <br />Creek canyon show an average of 200 total feet of sandstone <br />members (ONLY including members of 10 foot thickness or <br />greater) are contained in the 400-500 feet of total cover <br />overlying the lower Pinnacle seam within our lease area. <br />Included in this 200' total is a 35' thick massive <br />sandstone member 75' above the lower Pinnacle seam, and a <br />50' thick sandstone member 70' above the zone 03 seam. <br />Near surface geology of the surface facilities area: <br />The mine portals and surface facilities are located in <br />a relatively narrow portion of the Trout Creek Canyon, <br />which is alligned in a northeasterly direction looking <br />down-stream in the subject area. <br />The southeast facing hillside (northwest canyon wall) <br />into which the mine portals enter has an average elope of <br />62.SX and in places (notably in the immediate portal area) <br />a slope of over 95%. This hillside consists of vertically. <br />standing massive sandstone crops separated by detritus of <br />other components of the Iles formation. Detritus cover <br />varies from zero to less than 8 ft in depth depending on <br />the competence of the exposed stratum, and is deepest at <br />the three horizons of indicated coal crop. <br />The canyon floor is 400 to 500 ft wide with a roughly <br />planer surface striking northwest and dipping northeast at <br />an approximate 2% slope down-stream. The canyon floor <br />contains from 5 to 20 ft of unconsolidated alluvium through <br />which Trout Creek meanders at a 3 to 5 ft stream bed depth <br />below the planer surface. Although the canyon floor area in <br />the immediate vicinity of the mine has never historically <br />supported agricultural activities, irrigated hay lands do <br />exist, at a distance of a mile or so, in the Trout Creek <br />canyon both upstream and downstream from the mine area. <br />There is, therefore, evidence to support the contention <br />that the Trout Creek canyon is an alluvial valley. <br />Surface facilities were constructed on compacted fill <br />removed from the mine portal cut and deposited onto the <br />canyon floor to a depth of 8 to 10 feet. This elevated <br />surface exists above the flood plane of Trout Creek and is <br />rimmed by a protective berm. The fill was compacted to 100% <br />. standard Proctor density below footing grade and 90% <br />Proctor density below slabs prior to surface construction. <br />25 <br />