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Due to the mining and reclamation techniques employed at these mine sites, the <br />following cumulative impacts to the ground water regime may be expected: <br />1. Surface coal mining activities will affect the quantity of water <br />recharging the Sudduth Coal aquifer. <br />During mining, the actual recharge to the aquifer will be minimal. After <br />mining is completed and the pits are backfilled, spoil aquifers will develop <br />within the backfilled pits. These aquifers will provide recharge to the <br />Sudduth Coal. Eventually it is expected that water levels within undisturbed <br />portions of the aquifer adjacent to the mine will return to baseline <br />conditions. <br />2. The water quality of the Sudduth Coal seam aquifer will be affected <br />by recharge received from the spoils aquifer. <br />At the Marr Strip Mine, it has been postulated that water leaching through the <br />spoils will increase the total dissolved solids concentration in the coal <br />aquifer adjacent to the backfilled pits. The quality is expected to improve <br />with time as the spoils are leached, however, this timeframe has not been <br />determined. <br />Monitoring data collected at the Canadian Strip Mine indicates that the spoils <br />aquifer TDS concentration is less than that in the surrounding strata. <br />Continued monitoring at both the Marr and Canadian Strip Mine will better <br />define this system and the potential quality characteristics in the future. <br />No wells are completed in the Sudduth Coal seam within the area affected by <br />these mines, and there are no discharges from the seam which are put to <br />beneficial use, Therefore surface mining activities will not impact any water <br />use derived from the Sudduth Coal seam aquifer. <br />3. Mining conducted by Kerr Coal on the west limb of the Johnny Moore <br />Syncline will not affect the quality of the ground water in the <br />alluvial valleys of Sudduth Draw, Bolton Draw or the Canadian River. <br />The quantity and quality of water wells in the area will not be impacted by <br />mining. The only adjudicated water well in the Johnny Moore Syncline area is <br />the well owned by Kerr Coal Company in Section 35, T9N, R78W; which is not <br />hydraulically connected to the Sudduth Coal aquifer. <br />In addition, reclamation activities conducted by Wyoming Fuel Company will not <br />affect the quality of the ground water in the alluvial bodies of Bolton Draw <br />or the Canadian River, Each operation has been designed to minimize the <br />depletion and/or contamination of the alluvial bodies associated with these <br />drainages. <br />16 <br />