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Doc Date:1211112001 III I II I II I II IIII III <br />sss <br />• CjI ~ SITE DESCRIPTION AND LAND USE <br />National King Coal, LLC has only one underground coal mining operation <br />La Plata County, Colorado. The mine site may be reached from Hesperus, south o <br />(about 2.4 miles) to the junction of La Plata County Road 120, thence west 3.5 mil <br />that point, an unpaved road (access road) leads southerly for approximately 800 fey <br />Mine site. <br />Mining began here prior to 1941. During this time, only 10.88 acres of sur <br />disturbed due to mining operations. The access road from County Road 120 to the <br />disturbed 0.92 acres. <br />• <br />• <br />Some hay crops are raised along the bottom (drainage field) of Hay Gulch. <br />abandoned coal mines dot the gulch up-land areas where several coal seams outcrc <br />The Hay Gulch coal district lies on a dissected plateau cut by moderately sl <br />and valleys with a topographic relief of about 500 feet. King Coal's mine bench is <br />7350 to 7440 feet with the portals of the mine lying at about 7440 feet. Decades a, <br />Mine bench was originally open grazing land. Most of the land is still used for gr~ <br />wildlife habitat. The area is sparsely populated. No more than a dozen people livt <br />present time. <br />After the King Coal Mine is abandoned and the mining bench is reclaimed. <br />this tract of land can revert to its historic use, that of grazing and support facilities <br />wildlife habitat. <br />2.04.3 page 1 <br />Which is located in <br />State Highway 140 <br />sin Hay Gulch. At <br />to the King Coal <br />ace have been <br />mine bench has <br />ep-stueu canyons <br />u an elevation of <br />o the King Coal <br />ing, hay crops and <br />in [he gulch a[ [he <br />natural use of <br />livestock and <br />The meadow or drainage area of Hay Gulch is wet most of the year, the slopes of the gulch are <br />too steep for farming and cannot be irrigated, and the gulch has a very short growing season. The sun <br />is hidden much of the time by up-slope areas. The drainage of the meadow accounts for the lack of <br />dwellings in the gulch bottom. What few buildings there are must be constructed above the meadow. <br />A detailed description of land use, capability and productivity is provided in 2.04.11 (Vegetation <br />Information). <br />SPECIFIC DISCUSSION OF 2.04.3 (3) (a) - (f) <br />(a) The King Coal Mine of National King Coal, LLC is an underground, room <br />(b) The coal seam being mined varies in thickness from 50 to 74 inches. The s <br />the south side of Hay Gulch with overlying rock of the Menefee Formation <br />Sandstone reaching thicknesses in excess of 350 feet. A description of the <br />Section 2.04.6. <br />(c) Extent of coal removed to date is shown on mine [naps included with this a <br />C-3). <br />pillar mine. <br />outcrops along <br />the Cliff House <br />is given in <br />(See Map <br />February 1997 <br />