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Surface Water <br />The immediate mine area contains no flowing streams or springs. Surface runoff flows <br />through normally dry gulches to Carbon Creek and then to Ohio Creek. There are no <br />streams, springs, wells, or irrigation ditches within aone-mile radius of the permit area. <br />There are two stock ponds within a mile of the permit area that catch water after major <br />precipitation events. The water flowing from the Nu Msne adit is the only consistent surface <br />flow in the area. All surface water from the O.C. Mine No. 2 disturbed area passes through <br />a sediment control system. Water from undisturbed areas is routed around the disturbed <br />area by two diversion ditches. <br />Information on surface water hydrology can be found on pages 7, 8, 9 and Exhibit 7 of the <br />permit. <br />Geology <br />The O.C. Mine No. 2 is at the extreme southeast margin of the Piceance Basin. The area <br />is in the Crested Butte Coal Field and is near the West Elk Mountains. Stratigraphically <br />there are only 500 feet of sedimentary rock overlying the igneous intrusive basement rock. <br />The area is underlain by interbedded non-marine sandstones, siltstones, shales, carbonaceous <br />shales and coal beds assigned to the Mesaverde Formation. The base of the Mesaverde <br />Fot7ttation is formed by the massive Rollins Sandstone. The Mesaverde Formation is <br />overlain by the Ohio Creek conglomerate and underlain by the Mancos Shale. <br />Coal is mined from the B seam in the Paonia shale member of the Mesaverde Formation <br />which dips 2 to 4 degrees northwest. The B seam is 4.5 to 8 feet thick and is approximately <br />200 feet above the Rollins Sandstone. There are two other coal seams near O.C. Mine No. <br />2: The A seam that lies directly above the Rollins Sandstone and ranges in thickness from <br />2 to 3 feet, and the C seam that lies approximately 45 feet above the B seam in the area to <br />be mined and is approximately 1 to 2 feet thick. <br />Many faults are located in the Ohio Creek drainage. The area of mining at O.C. Mine No. <br />2 is surrounded on three sides by three faults. The faults locally offset the B seam by a few <br />feet or more. Two of the faults on the north and east side have been precisely located by <br />the mining operations, but the third has yet to be precisely located. <br />The analysis of the roof and floor material show that the rock is mildly alkaline (pH = 7.8); <br />that the conductivity is low, indicating low levels of soluble salts; that the sodium absorption <br />ratio (SAR) is low, indicating a ]ow sodium hazard potential; that the level of heavy metals <br />is below potentially toxic levels; and that the combustible solids are below the level at which <br />a hazard of spontaneous combustion would be present. Based on these analyses, none of <br />O.C. Mine No.2 Findings g May 15, 1992 <br />