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: y -5- Summary History of the Review Process, Description of the Environment, and Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plan. History of the Review Process Eastside Coal Company, a subsidiary of Western Associated Energy Corp, of San Antonio, Texas, has submitted a mining and reclamation application for the Eastside Mine, located near Silt, Colorado. The Eastside Mine will entail expansion of an existing underground exploration operation to allow for extraction of up to 200,000 tons of coal per year by room and pillar methods from the steeply dipping "E" coal seam. Additional development will result in a total surface disturbance of approximately 12 acres. The area to be permitted at the mine is 299 acres in Sec. 24, TSS, R92W and Section 19, T5S, R91W, 6th p.M. Both the land surface and the coal to be mined is privately owned and leased to Western Associated Energy Corp. The Eastside Application was originally submitted to the Division on February 24, 1984, and was deemed incomplete on March 8, 1984. A revised application was submitted May 15, 1984 and deemed complete by the Division on May 22, 1984. Three adequacy review letters were sent to the applicant on July 12, July 25, and October 25, 1984. The applicant submitted information in response to the concerns identified by the Division on October 4 and November 5, 1984. The technical analysis has been completed by the Division of Mined Land Reclamation, with the assistance of the Colorado Division of Water Resources and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Description of the Environment The 299 acre Eastside permit area is located along the bottom of Harvey Gap and on the steep slopes rising to the east of the Harvey Gap Drainage. Elevations range from 6,115 feet along Harvey Gap Drainage on the southern permit boundary to approximately 7,400 feet in the northeast portion of the permit area. The climate is semi-arid with a mean annual precipitation of 11 inches. The permit area is drained by Harvey Gap, which, due to seepage from the Grass Valley Reservoir located upstream from the mine, is a perennial stream through the permit area. Harvey Gap is utilized as a conduit for irrigation flows from the reservoir to a system of irrigation canals along terraces of the Colorado River to the south of the permit area. The terrace currently supporting irrigated agriculture approximately one half mile south of the permit area fias been identified as an alluvial valley floor.