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Description of the Environment The Keenesburg Mine is approximately 4.5 miles north of Keenesburg, Colorado. Ennis Draw, an ephemeral drainage, is located along the eastern boundary of the permit area. No stream, river, or other body of water lies within the mine site. The post-mining use of the affected land is rangeland. The permit area is located on level to gently rolling topography consisting of fine sand, which is wind-deposited material overlying weathered residual shale. The sand varies in depth from about 5 feet to 20 feet, is highly to moderately permeable, and is highly susceptible to wind erosion. For these reasons, the land capability is classified as VIe for dryland farming and IV for irrigated farming. The proposed non-irrigated site is classified as rangeland by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, as shown on page 37 of the permit application, general soil map of Weld County, Colorado. The land cannot support a variety of uses under existing technologies and local resources. All attempts at dryland farming on the area have been abandoned, and the damage caused by those attempts will remain evident for many decades. Otherwise, the land is moderately to well stabilized by a sandsage-prairie sandreed plant association that is used primarily for grazing by cattle in summer months. Fort Lupton, which has an average annual precipitation of 12.5 inches, provides the best estimate of precipitation at the area. Previous mining activity at the site extracted the No. 7 coal seam of the Laramie Formation. The flat-lying coal seam is overlain by 60-100 feet of overburden consisting of yellow-brown and gray to blue gray soft carbonaceous shale and clay interbedded with sand and shaley sand. At the base of the Laramie Formation is the Fox Hills member, a cross bedded gray to buff sandstone which is slightly to well cemented. Because of the low relief and deep, well drained soils, there is virtually no surface runoff Therefore, no streams springs or seeps exist in the area. All water flows subsurface through aeolian deposits to Ennis Draw, an ephemeral drainage. Ennis Draw appears to be a complex, braided, ancient stream bed that has been covered by windblown sand. It discharges several miles to the north into Box Elder Creek. Since there is no surface runoff or streams in the area, wildlife is limited to small rodents, primarily field mice, and birds with an occasional spotting of raptors such as hawks and eagles. There are no known endangered species in the area. Deer are rare as are most higher order vertebrates. -~-