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• As an additional reference, Skogerboe (1979) and others published <br />a report, "Environmental Effects of Western Coal Surface Mining, <br />Part III: The Water Quality of Trout Creek, Colorado," through the <br />U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. This report has been copied <br />and is attached to this application in Exhibit 7A. These <br />investigations researched the water quality impacts of surface <br />mining on surface and groundwater at the Pittsburgh and Midway Coal <br />Mine on Trout Creek. Through a carefully documented and conducted <br />program of sampling, the report concluded that: <br />• The impact of mine spoil drainage on the surface water is <br />reflected by larger quantities of dissolved solids and <br />common ions. <br />• The mine has no detectable impact on surface water in <br />terms of increasing concentrations of A1, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, <br />Fe, Pb, or Zn. <br />• Increases in stream concentrations of Mn and Se due to <br />mine inflow can be inferred. <br />• Higher concentrations of As, Fe, Mn, Se, and Zn are found <br />in water draining mine spoils. <br />• The concentration of these elements varies with spoil <br />age. Mn and Zn are higher in older spoils and As, Fe, <br />and Se are higher in newer spoils. <br />• Chemical equilibrium calculations indicate that alkaline <br />precipitations can maintain low concentrations of A1, Cd, <br />Cu, Fe, Pb, and Zn. <br />The report further concluded that application of chemical <br />equilibrium equations to the generally alkaline characteristics of <br />western streams and aquifers implies that this precipitation <br />equilibrium limits soluble heavy metal concentrations in <br />groundwater. <br />The work by Skogerboe can, in part, explain why heavy metal <br />concentrations in groundwaters near or adjacent to coal mining <br />operations in northwest Colorado have not been a serious problem. <br /> <br />2.04.7-22 <br />