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CHAPTERFOUR Environmental Consequences ' activities, including temporary disturbance of vegetation for installation of the piping system, an electrical transmission line, a natural gas line and the product pipeline. Mine paziel disturbance, occumng in approximately 5-year increments, would impact 483 acres over the life of the project. Piceance Site Vegetation Types The Proposed Action would directly disturb approximately 774 acres including: 219 acres of temporary disturbance, 483 acres of incremental disturbance in the well field, and 72 acres of long-term distwbance for roads and processing facilities. Table 4.7-1 shows short- and long-term disturbance by vegetation community. More than 73 percent of the total acres affected would occur in the Pinyon-Juniper Association. About 13 percent of the disturbance would occur in each of the chained pinyon juniper and sagebrush shrubland types. Only minor amounts of the barren/rock outcrop and greasewood associations would be affected. Overall, the Proposed Action would disturb about 19 percent of the Piceance Site. Pinyon-juniper woodlands and the Chained Pinyon-Juniper Community would halve about 660 acres of construction and operation impacts (16 percent of the total extent of this type that occurs within the study area). Because of the long time required to re-establish mature F~inyon juniper woodlands, impacts to all of these areas would be long term, even if young pinyon and juniper trees re-established quickly in revegetated areas. The Sagebrush Association would have about 96 acres of construction and operation impacts (2 percent of the total extent of this type that occurs within the study area). Impacts would be short term to long term depending on the project component responsible for the disturbance. Twenty acres would be reclaimed immediately after construction activities; 45 acres would be incrementally disturbed and reclaimed for mining operations; and 31 acres would be disturbed for the long tetTn for project facilities. Grasslands and agricultural lands would be significantly regenerated within 1 to 2 years and could be fully re-established in 3 to 5 years. Steep slopes (3h:1 v or greater) could take longer to revegetate depending on soils, moisture, and effectiveness of erosion control measures. No riparian or wetland azeas would be disturbed at the Piceance Site. The entire ponderosa pine RVA falls within the 25-30 Year Mining Panel. As required in the White River Resource Area RMP (BLM 1997), No Surface Occupancy (NSO) stipulations would apply to the RVA, and all surface disturbing activities would be restricted. Thus, no impacts are expected. No vulnerable or imperiled plant communities are known to occur at the Piceance Site. Noxious Weeds Disturbed areas and recently revegetated areas are susceptible to invasion by undesired plant species such as diffuse knapweed, Russian knapweed, Canada thistle, houndstongue, yellow 4-40 Vegetation