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In addition to the storage reservoirs in the area of the West Elk Mine, a total of 74 stock water <br /> impoundments have been identified in or adjacent to the permit area. Map 37 of the permit <br /> document shows the locations of the known stock water ponds. These ponds generally do not <br /> represent adjudicated water rights or perennial flows. Within the Gunnison National Forest, <br /> the ponds are managed for seasonal use by the U.S. Forest Service. <br /> Wetlands have also been identified within the permit area. Based upon inspection of <br /> conventional and infra-red aerial photographs and reconnaissance-level field investigation, <br /> there are estimated to be 2 to 3 acres of wetlands (as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of <br /> Engineers) in the Apache Rocks permit revision area. Most of the wetlands are found in <br /> drainage channels, although there are small, isolated wetlands on the hillsides where springs <br /> and seeps occasionally emerge as a result of landslides/sumps. <br /> Climatological Information - Rules 2.04.8 <br /> Information regarding climate characteristics can be found in Section 2.04.3 and 2.04.8 of <br /> West Elk's permit application. <br /> The mine site lies within the North Fork valley near Somerset, Colorado. At the mine site the <br /> valley is narrow and steep sided and follows a general east-west orientation. Considerable <br /> topographic variation across the mine site, and west central Colorado in general, results in <br /> marked fluctuation in seasonal and average precipitation and temperature values for the entire <br /> area. <br /> The mountains of the Continental Divide provide an effective barrier to the movement of <br /> moisture-laden air that reaches the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains from the Gulf of <br /> Mexico. Under this influence, two basic types of climate, semi-arid and undifferentiated <br /> highlands, are characteristic of the general area where the mine is situated. Temperatures can <br /> range below freezing in the winter, and yet in the summer, with the exception of higher <br /> elevations, can be extremely warm. The precipitation that does fall, originates from the <br /> Pacific Ocean weather systems, and most frequently occurs in the winter. <br /> Average annual precipitation ranges from approximately ten inches along the North Fork of the <br /> Gunnison River and the lower portion of Minnesota Creek to as much as 24 inches on the <br /> flanks of Mount Gunnison. The majority of precipitation falls as snow during the winter <br /> months, while the sparse summer precipitation consists of isolated thunderstorms. <br /> Soils - Rule 2.04.9 <br /> Soil Resource Information can be found in Section 2.04.9 in the permit document. More <br /> specific information relating to soil mapping units can be found in Exhibit 27, Exhibit 28, <br /> Exhibit 29, Exhibit 30, and on Maps 40 and 41. <br /> 15 <br />