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<br />Mine water inflow into the Sanborn Creek Mine and Sanborn East <br />Tract is estimated to be 425 gpm or less. The old Somerset Mine <br />had an inflow rate of 0.15667 gpm/acre for the 1,500 acres of <br />development in the mine that was below the level of the North Fork <br />River. Projecting this rate to the 2,600 acres of the Sanborn Mine <br />and Sanborn East Tract yields an inflow of 407 gpm. The operator <br />has rounded this figure t0 425 gpm in the permit document. The <br />operator has also projected an additional 235 gpm discharge from <br />the old Somerset Mine, which might reach the North Fork via the <br />alluvial system. This is considered to be extremely unlikely; <br />however, the projection is used in the CHIS to allow for absolute <br />worst-case prediction. The following are potential sources for <br />inflow: <br />The North Fork of the Gunnison River is 750 feet to the south <br />and 100 feet above the proposed B-seam workings and 40 feet <br />above the C-seam workings. Groundwater is expected to travel <br />downdip from the river through the coal and overburden into <br />the mine workings. Because of the low permeability of the <br />coal and overburden, calculations have shown that these flows <br />should be minor. The flows can be expected occur with a <br />considerable lag time. There will be a comparable diminution <br />of flow in the North Fork but mine pumpage will return this <br />amount to the river, minus that used in the mine. The cone <br />of depression from dewatering of the strata will only extend <br />to the boundary of the North Fork and will not adversely <br />impact any wells. <br />2. There is the potential that the mine may encounter water <br />inflow from faults and fractures. The location of these <br />faults are unknown. The largest fault that the old Somerset <br />Mine encountered had a sustained inflow of 120 gpm, ~.vhich <br />contributed 50 percent of the total inflow. The Somerset <br />Mine has committed to conducting a study of the potential for <br />mine inflow from the faults and fractures in the Coal Gulch <br />area. <br />3. The Sanborn Creek Mine will undermine portions of two <br />abandoned mines - the Oliver Mine and the Hawk's Nest Mine. <br />The Oliver Mine :gas mined in the 1930's and is known to be <br />completely flooded. An exposure of the workings adiacent to <br />the old county road is discharging water at a rate of a few <br />ga~lons oer minute. About 90 percent of the workings of this <br />mine lie downdip of the discharge point. <br />The riawk's Nest Mine lies north of the Oliver .•?ine and is <br />stratigraohically higher than the Olver D seam. Hawk's Nest <br />mined in both the E and F seams. The workings of this mine <br />are probably not flooded, as indicated by measurements in an <br />old drill hole. Also, curing cceration of the Ha~.vk's Nest <br />Kline, therz '.vas very little inflow. <br />because there i5 the potential that subsidence could cause <br />fiacturing of the interburden bet.+een the B seam and the <br />_tQ_ <br />