GENERAL37695 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

area is approximately 14.3 acres; proposed mine azea disturbed area is 15.7 acres. Existing and proposed disturbance in the loadout azea is approximately 2.9 acres. Ownership of the coal is in the Munger Canyon Mine permit area is 100 percent Federal. No additional coal production is proposed under the current permit. Geology and Topography The mine site is located at an elevation of approximately 5800 feet. Munger Canyon is located in the Book Cliffs, just north of Grand Valley. This area is northeast of the Garmesa Anticline and on the south flank of the Piceance basin. Local strata dip to the northeast into the Piceance basin at one to three degrees and strike north-northwest. No faults have been identified in the Munger Canyon mine plan azea. The adjacent McClane Canyon Mine (north of the Munger Canyon Mine) is located within a graben structure which is bounded by two large, high-angle displacement faults. The Mount Garfield Formation is the coal-bearing formation in the Book Cliffs Coal Field. The Mount Garfield Formation consists of fine-grained and medium grained sandstones and gray shales. The Sego Sandstone underlies the Mount Garfield Formation and the Hunter Formation overlies it. Included within the Hunter Formation are the massive cliff-forming sandstones which outcrop along the canyon walls of East Salt Creek. The Mount Gazfield Formation contains four coal zones; the Loma, Cazbonera, Cameo and Palisade Zones. The Cameo seam was mined at the Munger Canyon Mine. Originally, mining was proposed within both the Cameo and Upper Carbonera seams. Ground Water No major bedrock aquifers of regional extent have been identified in the permit and adjacent area by the applicant. Drilling has indicated that the Cameo coal seam becomes increasingly saturated downdip from its outcrop in Munger Canyon. The Cameo seam subcrops below the East Salt Creek alluvium. This indicates that East Salt Creek, several miles from the mine, is the rechazge source for the Cameo coal seam. Some local lenticular strata of limited extent have been identified above the Cameo seam which contain perched ground water. Underground mining activities at the Munger Canyon Mine were updip and away from the saturated zone in the Cameo seam (see Figure 4.4-1 of the application). Alluvial ground water exists within the East Salt Creek alluvium. The East Salt Creek Valley contains an intermittent stream channel. Surface Water Munger Canyon contains an ephemeral channel, which is tributary to East Salt Creek. Ground water in the alluvium and colluvium of Munger Canyon is at depths greater than 40 feet and thus is too deep to support subirrigation of crops. 10