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Mine water inflow into the Sanborn Creek Mine and Sanborn East <br />Tract is estimated to be 425 gpm or less. The old Somerset Mine <br />• had an inflow rate of 0.15667 gpm/acre for the 1,500 acres of <br />development in the mine that was below the level of the North Fork <br />River. Projecting this rate to the 2,600 acres of the Sanborn Mine <br />and Sanborn East Tract yields an inflow of 407 gpm. The operator <br />has rounded this figure t0 425 gpm in the permit document. The <br />operator has also projected an additional 235 gpm discharge from <br />the old Somerset Mine, which might reach the North Fork via the <br />alluvial system. This is considered to be extremely unlikely; <br />however, the projection is used in the CHIS to allow for absolute <br />worst-case prediction. The following are potential sources for <br />inflow: <br />The North fork of the Gunnison River is 750 feet to the south <br /> and 100 feet above the proposed B-seam workings and 40 feet <br /> above the C-seam workings. Groundwater is expected to travel <br /> downdip from the river through the coal and overburden into <br /> the mine workings. Because of the low permeability of the <br /> coal and overburden, calculations have shown that these flows <br /> should be minor. The flows can be expected occur with a <br /> considerable lag time. There will be a comparable diminution <br /> of flow in the North Fork but mine pumpage will return this <br /> amount to the river, minus that used in the mine. The cone <br /> of depression from dewatering of the strata will only extend <br /> to the boundary of the North Fork and will not adversely <br /> impact any wells. <br />• 2. There is the potential that the mine may encounter water <br /> inflow from faults and fractures. The location of these <br /> faults are unknown. The largest fault that the old Somerset <br /> _ Mine encountered had a sustained inflow of 120 gpm, which <br /> contributed 50 percent of the total inflow. The Somerset <br /> Mine has committed to conducting a study of the potential for <br /> mine inflow from the faults and fractures in the Coal Gulch <br /> area. <br />3. The Sanborn Creek Mine will undermine portions of two <br />abandoned mines - the Oliver Mine and the Hawk's Nest Mine. <br />The Oliver Mine was mined in the 1930'5 and is known to be <br />completely flooded. An exposure of the workings adjacent to <br />the old county road is discharging water at a rate of a few <br />gallons per minute. About 90 percent of the workings of this <br />mine lie downdip of the discharge point. <br />The Hawk's Nest Mine lies north of the Oliver Mine and is <br />stratigraphically higher than the Olver D seam. Hawk's Nest <br />mined in both the E and F seams. The workings of this mine <br />are probably not flooded, as indicated by measurements in an <br />old drill hole. Also, during operation of the Hawk's Nest <br />Mine, there ~das very little inflow. <br />• Because there is the potential that subsidence could cause <br />fracturing of the interburden between the B seam and the <br />-14- <br />