GENERAL31361

• Permit No: C1984067
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 9/3/1985
• Doc Name: PROPOSED DECISION AND FINDINGS OF COMPLIANCE
• Permit Index Doc Type: FINDINGS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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Ground water occurs in the sandstones and coals of the Me saverde Group, and in
the alluvium associated with Lightner Creek. The permit and adjacent areas of
the mine are located within the Coal Gulch drainage basin, which is tributary
to Lightner Creek and the Animas River.
The yearly amount of precipitation received at the mine site can be expected
to range from 11" to 30". Rainfall accounts for approximately 55% of the
precipitation, with the majority occurring during the during late summer
(August through October). Mean annual temperature is 46.7°F with extremes
from -23°F to 98°F. Wind direction is predominantly from the southwest.
Soil types within the proposed permit area include the following mapping
units; Jodero loam, Anvick loam, Goldvale very stony fine sandy loam,
Horsethief stony fine sandy loam, Fort Wingate rock outcrop complex, and the
Archuleta - Sanchez complex. The area proposed to be disturbed by surface
coal mining operations has been previously mined and disturbed and left
unreclaimed. The permittee has stockpiled material to be used as plant growth
medium for reclamation.
Since the Coal Gulch area has been previously disturbed and unreclaimed no
natural vegetation remains in the area to be affected. The sideslopes and
toe slopes adjacent to the proposed mine would indicate that three vegetative
communities existed prior to disturbance. These communities would have been:
a mixed mountain shrub-conifer community on the northeast facing slopes of the
Coal Gulch drainage, a pinyon-juniper-mixed-mountain shrub community on the
southwest facing slopes of Coal Gulch, and a dry grassland type found on the
colluvial toeslopes and at the mouth of Coal Gulch.
Operations and Reclamation P]an
The exploration operation is currently permitted for removal of 10,000 tons of
coal under Notice of Intent CX-191-00. The proposed Coal Gulch Mine is an
underground coal mining operation. Both mineral and surface ownership are
private or state for the areas to be permitted. The coal in the permit area
is under lease by the applicant from the State of Colorado, Arness-McGriffin
Coal Company, Mildred DeLuzio, and Thomas and Cara Lee Pierce. The owners of
record for the land surface in the permit area are the State of Colorado,
Arness-McGriffin Coal Company, Robert and Suzanne Lauth, Joseph and Matilda
Simpson, Durango West, Ltd., and Robert and Minna Kate r, et al.
Of the 725 acres to be permitted, 310 acres will be mined, and a total of 10
acres will be disturbed.
Surface facilities for the Coal Gulch Mine area will consist of an office,
storage shed, scale, fuel tanks, coal crusher, coal stockpile, electric
substation, and drainage control system. There is one major road on the site
which will be a combination access/haul road. The road intersects Highway 160
south of the main entrance to the Coal Gulch Mine.