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<br />A number of changes to the PAP are processed under this renewal application. These changes are <br />summarized as follows: <br />- Changes to the table of contents to reflect repagination and current contents. <br />- Removal of a number of figures and maps of mining features that never materialized due <br />to pre-mature closure of the mine. <br />- The addition of the permit boundary outline to a number of maps and figures. <br />- Update of information to reflect current interests in Eastside, describe past <br />accomplishments, and identify proposed operations and plans for remaining reclamation <br />work. <br />Descriation of the Environment <br />The Eastside Mine is an underground coal mine. The 299-acre permit area is located along the <br />bottom of Harvey Gap and on the steep slopes rising to the east. The proposed mine would have <br />affected 167 acres of non-federal land during the life of mine, including 12 acres of surface <br />disturbance for surface facilities and roads. <br />The topography in the vicinity of the mine portals and surface facilities area is a very steep, narrow <br />canyon (Harvey Gap) formed by a stream through steeply-dipping beds of the resistant sandstones <br />of the Grand Hogback (the predominate geologic feature of the region). Elevations range from <br />approximately 6175 feet along Harvey Gap Drainage on the southern permit boundary to <br />approximately 7846 feet upon the hogback geologic feature. Slopes in the area range from 10 to 50 <br />percent. A narrow band of unconsolidated deposits occurs along Harvey Gap Drainage. Channel <br />erosion has dissected the unconsolidated materials to a depth of up to 80 feet in the permit area. <br />The main geologic feature of the site is the steeply dipping beds of the Grand Hogback, and the <br />narrow Harvey Gap opening incised nearly perpendicular to the strike of the Hogback. Soils in the <br />permit area are rocky and poorly developed on the steep valley side slopes. Deeper, more well- <br />developed clayey to loamy soils derived from colluvial and alluvial material are present along the <br />toe slopes and terrace above the valley bottom. Soils in the immediate vicinity of the portal and <br />facilities area of the Eastside Mine have been disturbed by previous coal mining activity. <br />The climate is arid, characteristic of the 7,000-foot-elevation, Colorado western-slope, region. The <br />mean annual precipitation is 1 I inches. <br />The permit area is drained by Harvey Gap, which, due to seepage from the Grass Valley Reservoir <br />located upstream from the mine, is a perennial stream through the permit area. The Harvey Gap <br />Drainage is utilized as a conduit for irrigation flows from the reservoir to a system of irrigation <br />canals along terraces of the Colorado River to the south of the permit area. There are no natural <br />springs or other visual indications of ground water at the site reported in the PAP. Short, ephemeral <br />streams are characteristic of the permit area. <br />A dense cover of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) with an understory of cheatgrass (Bromus <br />tectorum) and yellow sweetclover (Mellotus officinalis) dominates the undisturbed portions of the <br />narrow canyon. Ajuniper woodland community occurs on the steep valley sideslopes on both sides <br />of Harvey Gap. Reclaimed areas of the site are well vegetated. No recent survey has been <br />4 C3i05/00 <br />