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-25- Data to be included in the report will include surface flow, water quality, depth to water, pit and auger hole inflows. The report will address the general surface and ground water regimes, as well as overburden stockpile drainage and/or aquifer development. This reprot will be submitted to the Division no later than December 31st of each year. Ground Water The cumulative impacts of previously permitted mining and the proposed Deep Canyon operation on regional ground water flow will be minimal. Mining will not disturb the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone, an underlying regional aquifer, nor will mining harm the quantity or quality of the Stollsteimer alluvial aquifer system. Mining may disrupt the limited alluvial/colluvial flow in Deep Creek Canyon, and may also intercept small amounts of "B" seam water. The overall effects of these disturbances is projected to be minimal Within the original permit area, the coal-bearing Fruitland Formation dips below the alluvial valley of Stollsteimer Creek. The alluvial aquifer is hydrologically connected to the bedrock aquifers and provides the primary source of recharge water to these aquifers. The coal seams are saturated below the level of Stollsteimer Creek and its associated alluvial valley floor, as evidenced by inflows to the old east pit as the "B" and "C" Seams were exposed. The applicant states that when water accumulated in the east pit, it was pumped to the adjacent sediment pond (Pond No. 002). Water was allowed to settle in the pond until such time that it met the effluent discharge limitations imposed by the Department of Health, as determined by sampling. Water was then pumped from the pond to Stollsteimer Creek. Except for water lost to evaporation, all inflows were returned to the surface water system. Ground water inflow to the Barren Ridge Pits, including the federal lease area was minimal. Inflow occured at the southern end of the pits, but as mining continued up dip, less water was encountered. During mining, water levels in the "A" and "B" seams, as well as in their associated inter/overburden, dropped. No wells or springs near the mine area are completed in or issued from this strata, so the effects were negligable. The Pictured Cliffs Sandstone did not experience any significant decline in water level. The "C" seam is separated from the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone by 35' of relatively impermeable interbedded shale, siltstone, and sandstone. No mine pits extended far enough below the water table to produce hydrostatic pressures capable of causing pit inflow from the Pictured Cliffs.