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Groundwater discharge on the property is by small seeps and springs <br />~' from sandstones that overlie the impermeable shales. During the <br />initial exploration phase and subsequent hydrologic investigations, <br />such as the 1979 LRCWE study, no significant quantities of <br />groundwater were observed to be flowing from the sandstones. Seeps <br />and small springs that were observed were consumed entirely. As <br />stated earlier, there is no significant groundwater discharge from <br />the sandstones to the mine pit. Recharge to the spoils is minimal <br />as evidenced by the lack of water encountered while reinstating the <br />6900 level water monitoring well. A discussion of this well is <br />included in the 1986 Annual Report. <br />• <br /> <br />Some groundwater discharge from the Trout Creek Sandstone and <br />sandstones beneath the Trout Creek may occur to Goodspring and <br />Taylor Creeks. Discharge from these sandstones to the creeks is a <br />result of recharge to these sandstones near the headwaters of both <br />creeks. Beneath Goodspring Creek, the sandstones are under <br />artesian pressure which probably allows for minimal groundwater <br />discharge by vertical percolation. <br />Groundwater ouality <br />General Area <br />report. <br />Water samples collected in the vicinity of the Colowyo Mine permit <br />area by federal agencies and consultants for the Colowyo Coal <br />Company indicate that the water quality is generally poor and <br />variable. Data collected by the USGS are presented in open-file <br />Report 78-23, "Selected Hydrologic Data, Yampa River Basin and <br />Parts of the White River Basin, Northwestern Colorado and South <br />Central Wyoming", Giles and Brogden (1978). Examination of the <br />data presented in this report indicates that concentrations of <br />trace metals rarely exceed the health limits. Intermittently <br />throughout the Yampa River Basin, concentrations of trace metals <br />were observed to exceed the limits. However, no apparent pattern <br />or conclusions describing their occurrence could be determined. <br />Table 1 is a summary of water quality data collected from USGS <br />observation wells completed in the vicinity of the Colowyo Mine <br />permit area. These data are presented in the USGS Open-file Report <br />78-23, Giles and Brogden (1978), and have been extracted from that <br />2.04.7-12 <br />