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<br />along the Roaring Fork River has good quality water. <br />Surface Water H,, d~rology <br />Two perennial streams are in the permit area: North Thompson Creek and Middle Thompson <br />Creek. The watersheds of both drainages are very similar. Elevation ranges from 7,600 feet <br />at the mine office to over 11,000 feet in the headwater. <br />Stream flow on North Thompson and Middle Thompson Creeks is derived primarily from <br />snowmelt. Flows resulting from snowmelt typically have a gradual rise, moderate peak, <br />lengthy recession and large volume. The peak occurs in May or June, while base flow is in <br />late fall or winter. <br />All surface disturbances, coal preparation structures and adits are in the North Thompson <br />Creek drainage. The underground workings for the No. 3 Mine are entirely within the North <br />Thompson Creek drainage. The adit for the No. 1 Mine is in the North Thompson Creek <br />drainage, but the underground workings extend into the Middle Thompson Creek drainage. <br />There are some old mine workings in the Middle Thompson Creek drainage, but there will be <br />no new disturbances. <br />Clim e <br />Annual precipitation at the mine is approximately 22 inches, with upland areas receiving up to <br />35 inches. Approximately 65 percent of the annual precipitation occurs as snowfall. <br />Vegetation <br />The mine permit area is characterized by five vegetation types: riparian woodland, mountain <br />shrubland -dry and moist phase, aspen forest, and spruce- fir forest. Riparian woodland is <br />prevalent along the Thompson Creek stream banks and its tributaries adjacent to the mine area. <br />The loadout vegetation communities are primarily introduced species for grazing and haying <br />purposes. However, pinon juniper woodland, ripazian woodland, big sagebrush shrubland, <br />and rabbitbrush shrubland are also found in and adjacent to the loadout site. <br />Soils <br />Topsoil in the Thompson Creek drainage is limited. Only a thin veneer of topsoil exists on the <br />steep sideslopes of the ridges. Furthermore, much of the topsoil at the mine facility area was <br />lost through historic mining disturbances. In contrast, the loadout site was built on a wide <br />valley floor where topsoil was rich, thick and extensive. Because the loadout was more <br />recently constructed, all available topsoil was salvaged. <br />a <br />