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-46- With few exceptions (such as the access road to the mine vent fan), all roads were designed to drain to a sedimentation pond. This practice has resulted in reducing sediment loads to North Thompson Creek. Where ponds were not practical, the operator employed water bars and straw bale filters to control erosion. The only new road constructed at the loadout was a coal haul road. This road was constructed primarily on an existing ranch road. The only new disturbance was a 2,100 foot segment that extends the ranch road to the truck dump. To minimize dust, this road was surfaced for its entire length. No public roads were relocated at either the mine or loadout. All roads proposed to be used during this five-year term are already constructed and in use, with the exception of a secondary refuse pile access road soon to be completed. All concerns related to the road sections of the application have keen resolved, C. Ponds, Imaoundments. and Diversions To control runoff from the mine and loadout facilities, the operator has designed and constructed a drainage and sediment control system. A discussion of this system can be found in Volume I, Sections 4.3.14, 4.3.2.4 and 4.6.1.3. Detailed engineering designs are found in Volume III, Appendix 3-B. The mine site disturbance is limited to a small area adjacent to the North Thompson Creek. Drainage from adjacent areas that would normally flow through the site have been diverted away from areas of disturbance. Runoff from the disturbed areas is collected by ditches and routed to one of several sedimentation ponds. These ponds detain the water for a specified period of time, which allows the sediment to settle out prior to the water being discharged back into the stream. Water from the coal preparation plant is conveyed to two wash water ponds, which also allow the sediment (mostly coal fines) to settle out. However, for this system, the water is recycled instead of being discharged to the river. The coal refuse disposal area is a permanent structure. A collection ditch has been installed around the perimeter of this pile. This ditch collects all surface drainage from the pile and routes it to a sedimentation pond at the base of the site. Diversions have been installed to route undisturbed adjacent drainage away from the site. The loadout utilizes four settling ponds. One pond collects drainage from the truck dump area, the other pond collects from the rail loadout. The remaining two ponds are coal wash water ponds and function similar to the ones at the mine. Water is collected from the entire coal conveyor system and is settled out in the two wash water ponds. Since the water is recycled from these ponds, no discharge to the Roaring Fork River occurs.