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depths, describes techniques used to salvage, store, and redistribute topsoil, and specifies an average <br />• redistribution depth. Also included are discussions on maintenance or testing procedures needed to <br />restore the disturbed areas to the desired postmine land use. <br />Evaluation of Topsoil Resources. The soils found in the Seneca II-W and II-W South study areas are <br />typical of soils found in the cold, semi-arid regions of the Western United States. The soils within the <br />Seneca II-W disturbance area range from moderately deep 120 to 40 inchesl to shallow 110 to 20 <br />inchesl, and have developed in weathered interbedded fine sandstone, siltstone, and shale, and in local <br />slope wash and colluvium. Most of the soils are Cryoborolls, Paleoborolls, and Chromusterts. Also <br />found in the disturbance area are Camborthids, Argiborolls, Cryorthents, and Natrargids. <br />Most of the soils found in the study areas contain a[ least six inches of suitable topsoil material. The <br />best sources of topsoil material within the disturbance area are Splitro loam, Winevada loam, Foidel silt <br />loam, Cochetopa loam, Routt clay loam, and Buckskin loam. These soils occupy about 65 percent of <br />the projected disturbance area and contain greater than 1.25 feet of salvageable topsoil material. <br />These soils have thick (greater than ten inchesl organic matter enriched surface horizons which overlie <br />sandstone bedrock, loamy subsoil, or clay subsoil. <br />• Major topsoil salvage limitations include clay and silty clay textures, high rock fragment content, very <br />steep slopes, shallow bedrock, salinity, and sodicity. Generally, those soils which have a very high <br />percentage of clay or rock fragments or overlie sandstone and shale bedrock at very shallow depths <br />have little suitable topsoil to be salvaged. No topsoil should be salvaged from Map Unit 4D. The <br />dominant soil in this map unit has clay percentages greater than 60 percent and has severe consistency <br />limitations throughout the entire profile. A thin veneer of topsoil should be salvaged from Map Units <br />35C, 35D, and 35E. These soils have unsuitable clay contents and have severe consistency limitations <br />in the subsoil and substratum. Minimal topsoil can be salvaged from Map Unit 5A. This soil type, <br />located in the tie-across haul road corridor, is typically saline, sodic, and has a heavy clay texture. The <br />surface six inches of topsoil from 7.2 acres of Map Unit 5A in the vicinity of Sage Creek is suitable for <br />salvage. This salvage area is shown on Exhibit 9-2. The surface six inches of topsoil from Map Units <br />99, 101, 103, and 5103 should be salvaged provided the salvaged topsoil is suitable li.e., see Tab 9, <br />Table 9-21, the rock fragment content is less than 35 percent, and equipment can be operated safely. <br />No topsoil is available to be salvaged from the rock outcrop portion of Map Unit 99 and 101. <br />r 1 <br />LJ <br />7 Revised 9/98 <br />