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E Seam Drill Hole for Concrete Ikliver,.y Project Plan <br />Minor Revision 333 <br />Page 3 of 9 <br />Mesa Verde, rocks of the Wasatch Formation are exposed. The Upper and Lower Coal <br />Members of the Mesa Verde Formation are the major coal-bearing units in the area. The <br />A (King), B (Somerset), and C (Bear) coal beds of the Lower Coal Member and the D <br />(Oliver), E (Hawks Nest), and the F-Seam coal beds of the Upper Coal Member have all <br />been mined within the North Fork Valley. <br />General dip in area of the methane drainage project drilling is 3 to 4 degrees to the <br />northeast. Stratigraphic displacements and faults are knoav to occur in West Elk Mine. <br />Known geologic data does not indicate that these faults are locatable on the surface. <br />WATER RESOURCES <br />The town of Paonia is situated about 10 miles west of the area and receives an average of <br />approximately 15 inches of precipitation annually. Given that precipitation increases as <br />elevation increases, the annual precipitation at the proposed well sites would be expected <br />to be somewhat higher than that received at Paonia An estimated 75% of the annual <br />precipitation occurs during late winter and early spring, mostly as snowfall. June, July, <br />and Augustan: often the driest months. <br />Drainage from the well pad for the proposed drill hole primarily enters an unnamed <br />tributary of Sylvester Gulch which is tributary to the North Fork of the G~mnison River. <br />No riparian, wetland or stream habitat will be affected by drilling activities. . <br />The alternate sediment controls used for this drill pad will consist of silt fence or straw <br />wattles placed on the out slopes of the road. The area is within an existing Small Area <br />Exemption described in previously submitted documents. <br />VEGETATION <br />Vegetation communities in the project area include: Mountain shrub (dominated by <br />Gambel oak), Aspen, Gambel oak, Spruce-Fir, Douglas fir and Grass/forbs. Vegetation <br />and reclamation at previous MDW sites is described in a document titled, "Mountain <br />Coal Company, West Elk Mine 2004 Reclamation Photograph Project", and Mountain <br />Coal Company's, "Annual Rechunation Report, November 1, 2004", completed by <br />Michael Ward Outdoors. Additional vegetation information is contained in the attached <br />report entitled, "Box Canyon West Methane Drainage Wells, Wildlife Habitat <br />Evaluations and Inventory for T&E, Sensitive and Management Indicator Species" <br />prepared by Michael Ward Outdoors and Monarch & Associates dated June 2005. <br />SOILS <br />The topsoil was salvaged previously and they varied from silty and sandy looms mainly <br />derived from the Wasatch Formation, to organic humus covering clay soils observed in <br />