Laserfiche WebLink
SUMMARY <br />The Review Process, Description of the Environment and Description of the <br />Operation and Reclamation Plan are presented below. <br />The Review Process <br />Peabody Coal Company received an approved permit for the Seneca II Mine on <br />September 23, 1981. Pursuant to Rule 2.08.5 of the Regulations, the Colorado <br />Mined Land Reclamation Division (the Division) notified Peabody Coal Company <br />on December 20, 1985 that a permit renewal application needed to be submitted <br />no later than March 24, 1986. The Division received a complete permit renewal <br />application on March 24, 1986. Through two adequacy responses (August 29, <br />1986, and October 15, 1986) Peabody Coal Company has resolved all of the <br />Division's concerns identified during the renewal process. <br />Since federal lands and resources are involved, copies of the permit renewal <br />application and subsequent adequacy responses were forwarded to the Office of <br />Surface Mining (OSM) for review. OSM notified the Bureau of Land Management <br />(BLM) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFIJS) and solicited <br />comments from these agencies. All comments and concerns were resolved during <br />the adequacy review. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The operation is located in northwest Colorado approximately 5 miles southeast <br />of Hayden, in Routt County. <br />Surface elevations at the mine site vary from approximately 6,600 feet (AMSL) <br />to 8100 feet (AMSL), while slopes range from a gentle 5 percent to nearly <br />vertical sandstone ledges. <br />The Seneca II Mine is located on the Tow Creek anticline, a local structure <br />within the regional Sand Wash structural basin. <br />Surficial geology in the area consists largely of consolidated sedimentary <br />rock of the upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group. A veneer of colluvial/alluvial <br />material is present in drainages, and becomes more significant along the major <br />streams in the area. <br />Three coal seams in the Williams Fork Formation are mined at the site. In <br />ascending order, these seams are the Wolf Creek, Wadge and Lennox. The Lennox <br />Coal is discontinuous, and is recovered where economically feasible. <br />Aquifers identified within and adjacent to the permit area include the Trout <br />Creek Sandstone, Wolf Creek Coal, Wadge Coal and overburden, re saturated <br />spoils and the alluvial bodies associated with local drainages. <br />The current lJadge mining area lies in the Fish Creek drainage while the Wolf <br />Creek mining area lies within the Grassy Creek drainage. Both of these <br />drainages are tributary to the upper Yampa River. <br />-4- <br />