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discharge, and storage for long periods. <br /> • There are numerous springs and ponds on the application area. All the springs overlie a minimum <br /> of 1,500 feet of overburden and are located in saturated unconsolidated deposits. The springs are <br /> a calcium sodium bicarbonate type. No springs issue from the Mesaverde Formation in the Paonia <br /> area, indicating the Mesaverde Formation is a recharge area, not a discharge area. <br /> There are no special floodplains, municipal watersheds or National Resources Waters located on the <br /> proposed lease tract. <br /> Water Rights and Use <br /> The Roatcap Creek Tract is within District 40 of Colorado Water Division 4. Presently, all surface <br /> and groundwater within the District is appropriated by the State of Colorado. There are water <br /> decrees in or adjacent to the tract with irrigation, industrial, recreation and domestic uses. Water <br /> flowing off the tract is crucial to satisfy water decrees downstream. <br /> J. Socioeconomic <br /> The proposed lease tract is located in Delta County and most of the workers live in Delta County <br /> and the mine buys locally as much as possible. These local expenditures by the mine affect mainly <br /> Delta County. Delta County, thus, is the focus of the economic impact area analysis. <br /> Between 1980 and 1990, Delta County experienced changes in its population. The 1980 <br /> population was 21,225 and the 1985 population was 23,466. The 1990 census puts the <br /> • population at 20,980, a decrease of one percent over the 1980 population count. See Table 1 for <br /> the population of towns in Delta County. The Colorado Division of Local Government has made <br /> population projections for the period 1990-2015. Delta County is projected to have a population of <br /> 22,280 by 2015 or a 6.2 percent increase over 1990. <br /> Employment for Delta County increased from 7,600 in 1989 to 8,124 in 1990 or a 7 percent <br /> increase according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Mining employment was 345 in <br /> 1980 and dropped to 98 by 1989, a 72 percent decrease. In 1989 mining employment - <br /> represented one percent of the county's employment. Mining earnings were 10.8 million in 1980 <br /> and decreased to 4.6 million by 1989. Mining earnings represented 13 percent of non farm <br /> earnings in 1980 and 4 percent of non farm earnings in 1989. <br /> TABLE 1 <br /> POPULATION OF TOWNS IN DELTA COUNTY <br /> TOWN 1980 1990 PERCENTAGE <br /> CHANGE <br /> CEDAREDGE 1.184 1,380 +17 <br /> CRAWFORD 268 221 -18 <br /> DELTA 3,931 3,789 - 4 <br /> HOTCHKISS 855 744 -13 <br /> ORCHARD CITY 1,914 2,218 + 16 <br /> . PAONIA 1,425 1,403 - 2 <br /> Page 9 <br />