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All water supply wells that aze located within one mile of the permit boundary aze listed in section <br />2.04.7 of the permit application and their locations are shown on Maps C-14 and King II-04. <br />The only natural springs located within one mile of the King Coal and King II Mines are the <br />Huntington Springs, located on the north side of Hay Gulch, west of the abandoned La Plata No. 1 <br />Mine area (File No. C-87-072). This spring, may flow from either the lower Menefee Formation or <br />the Hay Gulch alluvium. A water right to the Huntington Springs was adjudicated and subsequently <br />abandoned, as documented during permitting of the now terminated La Plata No. 1 Mine. The <br />Huntington Springs are beyond the azea of influence of the King Coal and King II Mines. <br />Surface Water Hydrology <br />The surface facilities of the King Coal Mine and the King II Mine will be located in ephemeral <br />drainages that aze tributary to Hay Gulch. The southern portion of the permit azea extends into the <br />Pine Gulch ephemeral drainage. Pine Gulch flows into Hay Gulch approximately 4 miles <br />downstream from the permit azea. Hay Gulch is a tributary of the La Plata River and their <br />confluence is located about 8 miles downstream (southwest) from the permit azea. <br />There are no perennial streams within the permit azea. Surface water in the ephemeral drainage <br />basins where mine surface facilities are located is limited to runoff from rainfall and snowmelt <br />events. Runoff from the undisturbed upper parts of drainages is routed around the disturbed areas <br />through ditches and culverts. With the exception of runoff from main/haul access roads, runoff from <br />disturbed areas is passed through sediment control ponds which discharge into Hay Gulch. <br />Hay Gulch does not have a stream channel in the vicinity of the permit area. Historically, surface <br />flow in Hay Gulch has been diverted into an irrigation ditch on the north side of the Gulch. This <br />ditch tames water for irrigation that has been diverted from the La Plata River. At times the ditch <br />water has been reported to be high in salinity, rendering it unsuitable for imgation use. NKC <br />documented the baseline quality of the ditch water by sampling the ditch twice per year for two <br />irrigation seasons ending in 1998, and for 12 months in 2005. The 2005 samples found total <br />dissolved solids of less than 200 mg/] for most of the yeaz. <br />An ephemeral stream channel may have existed in the bench azea of the King Coal Mine prior to <br />disturbance of the site in 1941. This pre-mining channel would have been located in the lower <br />portion of the mine. Runoff from larger events would occur as channel flow, while smaller events <br />would primarily rechazge the alluvium from side-slope areas. For this reason, apost-mining channel <br />will be reconstructed in the current location of the facilities area. A review of the channel design <br />indicates it meets the requirements of Rule 4.05.3. <br />Information on surface water hydrology can be found in Sections 2.04.7, 2.05.3 and 2.05.6 and Maps <br />C-4, C-9, and King I[ - 007 of the permit application. <br />Climate <br />The climate is semi-azid, characterized by hot summers, cold winters, and a limited amount of <br />precipitation each year. The prevailing winds are from the southwest and west with an average <br />7 <br />