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entire farming operation is 244,800 lbs. This figure is based <br />on the above-mentioned production figure for the pasture plus <br />the additional 342 acres, with a production rate of <br />400 lb/acre. The mining disturbance therefore effectively <br />reduces the farms total production by 5.percent. Based on this <br />analysis, the Division finds the removal of 12.5 acres of the <br />AVF from production to be negligible when compared to the <br />farm's total production. However, any additional disturbance <br />to the AVF is disallowed. <br />The operation has interrupted agriculture, but the Division <br />finds that the disturbed area is of such small acreage as to be <br />of negligible impact on the farm's production. <br />Material Damage to Quality or Quantity of Surface or Ground <br />Water Systems which Supply Alluvial Valley Floors <br />(2.06.8(5)(a)(i)(A)(II) <br />The permittee has provided to the Division an estimate of the <br />amount and rate of water which will be depleted from <br />Stollsteimer Creek following closure of the East Pit (Exhibit <br />33, Volume IV, approved permit application). The total amount <br />of water which will be depleted from Stollsteimer Creek to <br />recharge the spoils aquifer, which will develop in the existing <br />East Pit, is approximately 42 million gallons. The rate of <br />recharge will be the sum of infiltration - deep percolation <br />rate (1 gpm), and the rate of inflow from the pit walls (10 <br />gpm). The rate of inflow from the pit walls will decrease <br />logarithmically from 10 to 0 gpm with time. The calculated <br />time for complete recharge of the spoil aquifer will be between <br />20 and 30 years. Inflows into the Barren Ridge pit during <br />mining are estimated at from 2 to 3 gallons per minute. The <br />majority of this water will be returned to the stream after <br />passing through Sediment ponds. Total depletion of water from <br />Stollsteimer Creek during mining due to infiltration into the <br />Barren Ridge pit will amount to less than one percent of the <br />Stollsteimer Creek surface flow (Piteau Report, <br />September 15, 1983, Exhibit 38, Federal Lease permit revision <br />application). After mining, flow to the reclaimed Barren Ridge <br />pit will decrease exponentially from the original <br />2 to 3 gallons per minute to 0 gpm as the water table rises in <br />the reclaimed pit. <br />Since there will be no mining activity below the water table in <br />the Federal Lease Area, there should be no effect on the ground <br />water table or flows in Stollsteimer Creek due to mining in <br />that area. <br />In summation, the total amount of water withdrawn from <br />Stollsteimer Creek during and after the mining activities in <br />the East Pit, Barren Ridge, and Federal Lease Areas due to pit <br />inflows will have a negligible effect on the normal flows of <br />Stollsteimer Creek. <br />_lg_ <br />