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XIII. Prime Farmland (2.04.12, 2.06.6, 4.25) <br />The Division has made a negative determination on the presence of prime <br />farmlands based on information from the Soil Conservation Service and in the <br />permit application in Volume I, Sections 2.04.9 and 2.04.12. <br />No land within the permit area is irrigated, average annual precipitation is 9 <br />inches, and in many instances, the land slope exceeds 10%. In addition, a <br />soil survey of the area shows no soils designated as potential prime farmlands. <br />Pursuant to Rule 2.07.6(2)(k), the Division finds the proposed operation in <br />compliance with the requirements for Prime Farmlands. <br />XIV. Operations Description (2.05.2, 2.05.3(1), 2.05.3(2), 4.01) <br />The general description of the mining operations and facilities have been <br />reviewed by the Division for compliance with the Rules and Regulations. <br />Concerns raised during the Preliminary Adequacy Review were satisfactorily <br />resolved by the applicant. The general description of the mine operations can <br />be found in Sections 2.05.2 and 2.05.3 of Volume I of the application. The <br />operations description for the Cameo Refuse Disposal Area revision can be <br />found in Section 2.05.3 of the permit revision application. <br />Room and pillar and longwall mining methods are to be used in recovering the <br />minable coal reserves at the Cameo and Roadside mines. Major equipment will <br />include continuous miners, shuttle cars, roof bolters, shearers, hydraulic <br />shields, and belt conveyors. The anticipated annual production is 1,100,000 <br />tons of clean coal. <br />Room and pillar panels will be typically developed using a five-entry system. <br />Rooms will be driven from these submains a distance of approximately 440 feet <br />from the centerline of the submains. The entries are 18 to 20 feet wide. <br />Pillars will be developed on 100 by 100 foot centers for all mains and 60 by <br />100 foot centers for all submains. <br />Longwall panels will be 510 feet wide and vary in length from 4,400 feet to <br />5,700 feet. Barrier pillars of approximately 200 feet in width will be used <br />for longwall panels. A two-entry system will typically be used for the <br />longwall panels. <br />According to current plans, a total of 1,817 acres will be affected through <br />the year 1995. The area presently disturbed by surface facilities is 272 <br />acres. There are no plans to disturb any further acreage. with the exception <br />of the construction of Cameo Refuse Disposal Areas Nos. 2 and 3 which will <br />increase the disturbed area to approximately 352 acres. <br />All coal to be mined will be recovered from the Cameo "B" seam. The stratum <br />that will be affected by underground mining consists primarily of <br />undifferentiated shales and sandstones of the Mesaverde Group. <br />The proposed operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. <br />-30- <br />