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• The mine occurs within the lower montane region. Three vegetation types <br />occur within and adjacent to the permit area. A greasewood shrubland <br />type occupies the flat terrain along the East Salt Creek drainage where <br />soils are deep, well-drained and often very sodic and moderately saline. <br />Shadscale shrubland borders the greasewood shrubland along the dry, <br />steep, south facing slopes in the shallower soils which are interspersed <br />with rock outcrops. Juniper Woodland is found along the ridge tops and <br />steep north and west facing slopes of shallow soils and rock outcrops. <br />These vegetation types are typical of western Colorado and eastern Utah. <br />Surface-Water Hydrology <br />Surface-water quality in East Salt Creek has been documented by the <br />applicant to be substandard in quality, resulting in the operation having <br />little effect on water quality, but Colorado MI.RD has required a <br />monitoring program to verify these conclusions. <br />Surface-water quantity and quality is being monitored upstream and <br />downstream of the disturbance in McClane Canyon and on East Salt Creek <br />upstream and downstream of the confluence of McClane Canyon and East Salt <br />Creek. The average mine discharge of about 2.5 gpm is insignificant. <br />The water quality of the mine water is slightly better than nearby <br />surface water, but the improvement of quality is insignificant. A <br />monitoring program and monitoring pursuant to NPDES permit CO-0038342 <br />will show any unexpected changes in water quality or quantity. <br />• Several conditions have been required by Colorado MLRD to bring the mine <br />into compliance with SHCRA regarding surface water hydrology. Six of <br />these conditions required compliance within sixty days, Colorado MLRD has <br />stated that the applicant resolved these problems before October 4, 1985. <br />Ground-water Hydrology <br />Drilling in the general area did not indicate the presence of a saturated <br />zone within the Cameo seam, but actual mining encountered a partially <br />saturated zone. Drainage of the Cameo seam produced up to 5 gpm outflow, <br />which is pumped to the surface and discharged. <br />The zone of saturation in the Cameo seam is recharged at the point where <br />the Cameo seam subcrops below the Salt Creek alluvium approximately two <br />miles upstream of the mine. Very little recharge of the coal seams and <br />sandstones occur along outcrops because of the very low precipitation <br />rate (8.8 inches) and the steep slopes that favor runoff over <br />infiltration. <br />The applicant has no monitoring wells in strata overlying or within the <br />zone of the underground mine workings. This is because of the <br />inaccessibility of the steep terrain to truck mounted drill rigs. <br />Previous holes drilled in the area of the portals have been dry to a <br />depth below the projected mining level. The mine workings are situated <br />within a geologic structure identified as a graben. This graben is <br />• bounded on both sides by faults. Mining of the coal is not possible <br />beyond the faults because of the displacement of the coal seams. <br />-4- <br />