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a paralithic clay shale - sandstone - carbonaceous shale - rock outcrop complex. The paralithic material is unsuitable for reclamation purposes; all other mapped soil units have suitable topsoil material with recommended stripping depths ranging from 5 to 56 inches. The east side of the permit area is dominated by a mountain shrub plant community, with Gambel's Oak being the predominant species. The predominance of Gambel's Oak is expected in this area given past disturbances, elevation, moisture and exposure. A small portion of the permit area is introduced pasture and utilized by the landowner for grazing purposes. The west side of the permit area, which includes the Barren Ridge and Federal Lease Areas, is dominated by a sparse pinon-juniper plant community. The dominant plants in this community are Gambel's Oak and pinon pine. Grasses and fortis comprise less than 15 percent of the total vegetative cover in these areas. The permitted area lies on the northern rim of the San Juan Basin in southwestern Colorado. The San Juan Basin is an asymmetric structural basin containing sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Cambrian to Holocene. Mining operations extracted the A, B, and C coal seams, which are located in the Lower Fruitland Formation. The coal seams dip 6° to 8° to the southwest and strike N 60°W. No large displacement faults exist in the permit area. The A seam is the first minable coal seam encountered. It is generally four feet to five feet thick with intermittent shale partings. The B seam is located approximately 6 to 12 feet below the A seam and has an average thickness of 11 feet. The C seam is located 20 to 30 feet below the B seam and has an average thickness of 9 feet. The Kirtland Shale overlies the Fruitland Formation. The Kirtland Shale is composed of gray shales that contain thin layers of interbedded siltstone and sandstone. This formation is highly erosive. The streams in the area have eroded terraces in the Fruitland and Kirtland Formations. These terraces were subsequently covered with alluvial gravels. The Fruitland Formation is composed of interbedded sandstone, siltstone, shale, carbonaceous sandstone, and siltstone, as well as the above-mentioned coal seams. The coal seams appear to be the most continuous stratigraphic units found within the Fruitland Formation. The coal-bearing zone is approximately 82 feet thick. Underlying the coal-bearing Fruitland Formation is the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone. This formation is composed of white to yellowish-gray massive sandstone ranging in thickness between 200 and 250 feet. The lower units of the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone contain increasing amounts of shales. The operator has performed both chemical analyses and leaching studies on samples of the overburden, interburden and coal strata. Based on these analyses, the Division has determined that there is no problem with -4-