GENERAL30336 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

- 5 - • toric Places eligibility criteria (36 CFR 60.6). Should a resource be determined eligible for listing in the National Register of His- toric Places, the operator shall consult with and obtain the approval of C1iLRD and OS21 concerning the development and implementation of mitigation measures as appropriate. 2. Description of the Affected Environment The mine site is located at an elevation of approximately 5800 feet. Land use within the permit and adjacent areas is rangeland and wildlife habitat. Range- land is generally confined to the lower lying canyon bottom lands. The upland area consists of steep slopes and rugged topography and is primarily used by wildlife. Some irrigated agriculture is practiced in the East Salt Creek Val- ley which is adjacent to the permit area. tScClane Canyon is located in the Roan Cliffs area just north of Grand Valley. This area Ss northeast of 'the Garmesa Anticline and on the southern flank of the Piceance Basin approximately 30 mile west and north of Grand .Tunction. Local strata dip to the northeast into the Piceance Basin at approximately 2 degrees. The. coal to be mined. is-within-a graben which is bounded by two high-angle faults. The upper Cretaceous,: Mesa Verde Group, Mount Garfield Formation is the coal bearing formation in the Book Cliffs Coal Field. This formation consists of fine grained and medium grained sandstones and gray shales. The Sego Sand- stone underlies the Mount Garfield Formation with the Hunter Formation overly- ing the Mount Garfield Formation. The Mount Garfield Formation contains four coal zones; the Loma, Carbonera, Cameo, and Palisade zones. The Cameo seam 4•-~ ~•~ will be mined at the McClave Canyon Mine. -- - No major bedrock aquifers of regional extent have been identified in the per- =`'' mit and adjacent areas by the applicant which is to be expected since the bulk of the Cameo seam being mined is above water table. Drilling has indicated that the Cameo coal seam becomes increasingly saturated down dip from its out- _ _ crop in HcClane Canyon. The coal seam subcrops in the East Salt Creek silo- - vium several miles from the mine which is identified as the recharge area for the Cameo seam. Some local lenticular strata of limited extent have been identified above the Cameo seam which contain perched ground water. Alluvial ground water exists within the East Salt Creek alluvium. The East Salt Creek Valley contains an intermittent stream channel. The climate in the region is arid. Prevailing winds at or near ground level at [he mine are dictated by the orientation of the deeply incised hlcClane Can- yon. The annual average precipitation recorded at Fruita (22 miles southeast of 11cClane Canyon) is 8.8 inches. The soils mapped in the permit area arc well to excessively drained and lia•:e forned Ln alluvial or colluvlal sediments. Soils are deepest in the valley bottoms and become shallower along [he canyon sideslopes where they Lnter- • sperse with bare rock. All of the soils are rated good to fair as sources of topsoil for reclamation. Limitations exist for subsoils in the alluviua which demonstrate strong alkaline pH values.