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<br />striking generally northwest to southeast, with displacement of zero to 85 feet. A reverse fault running in <br />an arcuate line northward through [he west central part of the basin shows displacement of 0-80 feet. <br />Smaller lateral faults were encountered in the 9R and l OR gateroads while driving development out into <br />the Eastern Mining District. <br />The near-surface bedrock units are composed of sedimentary rocks of marine and non-marine origin. <br />These sedimentary rocks were formed through the transgression and regression of an epicontinental sea <br />and are comprised of sequences of sandstones, siltstones, shales and coal. Four geologic formations exist <br />in the vicinity of the Eastern Mining District. They are, in ascending order, the Mancos Shale, the Iles and <br />Williams Fork Formation of the Mesaverde Group, and the Lewis Shale. These strata were all deposited <br />during the late Cretaceous Period. Generally, the strata dip to the center of the basin at about 7~. <br />Three economically important coal seams, the Lennox, Wadge, and Wolf Creek coals, are located within <br />the locally important Middle Coal Group of the Williams Fork Formation. At this time, the Wadge coal <br />seam is the only seam being mined in the Foidel Creek underground mine. The Wadge Coal seam was <br />strip mined in CYCC's adjacent Energy No. 1 and Eckman Park Mines (No. C-81-071). <br />The Wadge coal seam, in the area of the Foidel Creek Mine, is separated from the underlying Trout Creek <br />sandstone by about 250 feet of interbedded sandstones, siltstones, shales and coals. The Wadge coal seam <br />is separated from the overlying Twentymile sandstone by 700 feet of massive shale and interbedded <br />sandstones, siltstones, shales and coals. Overburden depths in the proposed permit area range from 0 to <br />1.700 feet. <br />The stratigraphy and geologic structure within the Twentymile Park Synclinal Basin control the ground <br />water flow within the permit and adjacent areas. There are three regional bedrock aquifers within the <br />permit and adjacent areas of the Foidel Creek underground mine. These aquifers are the Trout Creek <br />sandstone, the Twentymile sandstone, and the Wadge coal-overburden zone. All three aquifers exhibit <br />artesian conditions in central portions of Twentymile Park Basin. The quality in all aquifers is moderately <br />poor but is tolerable for use as a drinking supply. <br />The geologic structure created by folding and faulting within the Twentymile Park Synclinal Basin affects <br />the direction of flow within the rock aquifers. In the permit and adjacent areas, the direction of ground <br />water flow in the bedrock aquifers is down dip to the northeast into tfie Twentymile Park Basin. Faults in <br />the area produce localized fracture zones within the rock strata. These zones of increased permeability, in <br />turn, increase the potential for vertical and horizontal movement of ground water within the rock strata. <br />However, experience to-date in the Foidel Creek mine shows little to no inflow along the fault zones at the <br />level of the Wadge coal seam. Some inflows were encountered in 9R, and 6R gateroad as they were <br />developed into the Eastern Mining District. These inflows appeared to be localized, and tapered off over <br />time. <br />The Twentymile sandstone is separated from the Wadge coal-overburden aquifer by up to 700 feet of <br />impermeable shale within the permit and adjacent areas. The underlying 700-foot shale and the overlying <br />shales and siltstones of the upper Williams Fork Formation and the Lewis Shale Formations produce the <br />confined artesian conditions within the Twentymile sandstone aquifer. To the northeast, the Twentymile <br />sandstone recharges the alluvial aquifer and provides base flow to the tributaries of Trout Creek down <br />gradient of the mine. Salts in the Twentymile sandstone waters are predominantly sodium bicarbonate and <br />result in TDS levels of 150 mg/1. This aquifer is occasionally used for domestic needs. <br />