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West E!k Mine <br />• Exhibit 23 average annual precipitation is 15.29 inches falling especially in September (].61 <br />inches), October (1.60 inches), and December (1.63 inches). January (0.90 inches) and June (0.82 <br />inches) average the lowest monthly precipitation. <br />Maximum monthly precipitation fell in October (3.43 inches), but February (3.26 inches), April <br />(3.11 inches), June (3.30 inches), September (3.37 inches), and December (3.24 inches) all received <br />more than three inches at least once. The most precipitation recorded for May (1.75 inches) is <br />noticeably lower than the next lowest value which is 2.34 inches in July. <br />The minimum monthly precipitation fell during October (0.00 inches). However, February (0.08 <br />inches), June (0.06 inches), and July (0.05 inches) have received quite low amounts also. December <br />has never received as little precipitationas other months. <br />February, June, September, and October are the most variable in the amounts of precipitation they <br />have received over the years. April, May, September, November, and December always received at <br />least 0.1 inches precipitation on one or more days during the month. April, June, July, September, <br />October, November, and December have each had 1.0 inch or more precipitationon one day of that <br />month. Compazing this summary with the information on years before 1957 reveals no consistency <br />(Colorado Climatologist, Department of Atmospheric Sciences CSU). <br />Horse Creek Precipitation Station <br />A precipitation storage gage was installed near Horse Creek on the southern part of the coal lease <br />• area. Monthly readings had been recorded at this station since June of 1977, weather permitting. <br />The gage was destroyed during floods in late May, 1983. A new gage was installed at a nearby <br />location on September 8, 1983. Monthly readings of precipitation for this station were reported in <br />the "Quarterly Hydrology Reports" for the West Elk Mine. <br />Site Specific Conditions <br />For purposes of this section, Spring is defined as March 1 through ivlay 31 and Summer as June 1 <br />through August 31. Analytical presentations and discussions are included to define the <br />meteorological chazacteristicsof the West Elk Mine. <br />Site Description <br />The monitoring program for site specific information includes three stations, identified as Site 1, 2, <br />and 3, located in the immediate azea of the mine. The mine is located in western Colorado along the <br />North Fork of the Gunnison River, east-northeast of Paonia, Colorado. Figure 12 shows the <br />location of each monitoring site. Site 1 is situated at an elevation of approximately 1,885 m (6,086 <br />fr) above mean sea level (MSL) immediately adjacent to the river and just east and upstream from <br />the mine facilities location. Site 2 is located approximately 260 m (853 ft) southwest of Site 1 at an <br />elevation of approximately 1,908 m (6,260 fr) above MSL. Site 3 is located approximately 945 m <br />(3,100 fr) southwest of Site 1 and further up the side of the river valley canyon at an elevation of <br />approximately 2,038 m (6,687 ft) above MSL. <br />• Several parameters were measured at each site. Wind speed, wind direction, and ambient air <br />temperature were measured at all three sites. Equipment at Site 2 also recorded relative humidity <br />2.04-1 ]4 I/947R05; 8/947871; 6/95 PRO6 <br />