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i i <br />SUMMARY <br />The Review Process, Description of the Environment <br />an d <br />Description of the Operations and Reclamation Plan <br />The Review Process <br />Peabody Coal Company submitted a permit renewal application on June 18, 1990. <br />The application was deemed complete on June 28, 1990 and the proper <br />notification was sent to parties identified in Rule 2.07,3(3)(b). Only one <br />comment was received within the comment period required by Rule 2.07.3(3)(c). <br />This comment came from the Division of Field Services of the State of <br />Kentucky's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet - Department <br />for Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. This comment indicated that <br />Peabody Coal Company had one outstanding violation in the contemporaneous <br />reclamation category. This violation is currently in the administrative <br />review process and thus does not constitute a reason for denying renewal of <br />the existing Seneca II-W Mine permit in Colorado. No other concerns were <br />iaentified during the Division's review of the permit and a letter that stated <br />this was sent to Peabody Coal Company on October 18, 1990. Thus the Division <br />is issuing a proposed decision to approve the application with no new <br />stipulations. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The proposed operation is located in northwest Colorado approximately 7 miles <br />south of Hayden in Routt County. The Seneca II-W Mine lies 7 miles due west <br />of the existing Seneca II Mine, File No. C-80-005, <br />Elevation of the general mine site ranges from approximately 6400 to <br />8350 feet. Slopes range from a gentle 7 percent to vertical ledges formed by <br />the Twenty Mile and Trout Creek sandstones. Many of the drainages are deeply <br />incised. <br />Structurally, the mining area lies within the regionally significant Sand Wash <br />Structural Basin, Of local significance is the Sage Creek Anticline. The <br />mine site lies on the western limb of this anticline. Rock units dip 8 to 14 <br />degrees to the west. Faulting has been observed in the region, however no <br />faults have been identified at the mine site. <br />The surficial geology of the area is composed chiefly of sedimentary rocks, of <br />marine and non-marine origin. These sedimentary rocks were formed through the <br />transgression and regression of an epicontinental sea. <br />Rock outcropping within the permit boundary is predominately of the <br />Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group. The Mesaverde Group is divided into two <br />formations, the Iles Formation and the Williams Fork Formation. Both <br />formations are comprised of sequences of sandstones, siltstones, shales and <br />coal. The older Iles Formation outcrops in the easternmost portion of the <br />permit bounaary while throughout the rest of the permit area the surficial <br />rock is from the Williams Fork Formation. There are some thin surficial <br />deposits of Quaternary alluvium and colluvium scattered throughout the area. <br />-3- <br />