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<br />L~ <br />• <br />• <br />area. Over 100 springs occur within the life-of-mine area. <br />The springs are highly ephemeral and discharge mainly as a <br />result of spring snowmelt. <br />In the B-seam mining area, no springs were observed below <br />the E seam (the B seam lies approximately 200 feet below the <br />E seam), and only one undeveloped spring was located between <br />the F seam and the E seam. <br />Seven stock ponds are located above the B-seam mining area. <br />Mine inflows in the F-seam workings were projected in 1987 <br />to be about 100 gallons per minute (gpm) on a long-term <br />basis. Actual inflows have averaged 35 gpm initially, <br />reducing to about 12 gpm on a long-term basis. Treatment <br />capacity for the mine water inflow is 200 gpm (in addition <br />to the treatment capacity for surface runoff from the <br />surrounding drainage area). Currently, treatment is <br />required only for inflows from the active mining areas. <br />Water consumption supporting mining activities in the past <br />seven years has ranged from 5.52 to 35.22 acre feet per <br />year. Water for mine use is acquired from the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River. The low flow on the North Fork of the <br />Gunnison River in 1977, a low flow year, was 82,270 acre <br />feet per year. <br />3. unstable geology concerns <br />The permit area contains many isolated rockfall areas on the <br />steep slopes. An existing slope-failure area (slump or <br />landslide) occurs in and adjacent to the permit area in the <br />E1/2 of Section 19. <br />The original permit and mining plan included mining <br />operations under part of a massive landslide area on the <br />slope immediately across the river from the town of <br />Somerset, and limitations on coal extraction were placed on <br />the approval of those mining operations. This area has <br />since been removed from the permit and mining plan approval <br />area. <br />4. Threatened or endangered species <br />The permit area is located in the Upper Colorado River <br />drainage basin. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service (USFWS), any activities that deplete surface flows <br />in the Upper Colorado River drainage basin may affect the <br />endangered fishes in the lower Colorado River. The bald <br />eagle occurs in the area of the mine. No threatened or <br />endangered plant species have been identified in the area. <br />8 <br />