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DRAFT <br />3 WORK PLAN <br />The goals of the work plan are as follows: <br />• Characterization of the groundwater flow regime, including: <br />- identification of permeable and water-bearing units, <br />- quantification of potentiometric surtaces for each significant unit, <br />- estimation of permeabilities, and <br />- documentation of pre-mining water quality. <br />• Characterization of the surface water flow regime, including: <br />- verification of previous stream characterizations, <br />- quantification and characterization of stream flows, and <br />- documentation of pre-mining water quality. <br />5 <br />• Characterization of the geochemical conditions, including: <br />- documentation of the pre-mining geochemical environment, and <br />- identification of materials that may adversely affect post mining water <br />quality. <br />3.1 Groundwater <br />The approach to characterizing the groundwater system includes identifying the most <br />permeable saturated and continuous geologic units in the project area. Preliminary <br />drilling indicates that upper bedrock units are mostly unsaturated but may contain <br />perched water zones. <br />The Trout Creek Sandstone is generally considered the uppermost regional aquifer in <br />the area. The top of the Trout Creek lies about 400 ft below the G seams and is <br />separated from the G seams by numerous mudstone, siltstone, sandstone and coal <br />beds that will not be disturbed by mining. Therefore, similar to the circumstances that <br />exist in the adjacent Colowyo Mine, no effects on the Trout Creek from the Collom mine <br />are reasonably expected. As a result, this work plan does not incorporate site-specific <br />characterization of the Trout Creek Sandstone. Regional scale data exists and will be <br />used as appropriate. <br />2572-Rf Colowyo Coal Company, L.P. <br />Water Management Consultants <br />