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area, while the majority either contribute flow to the creeks or provide <br />recharge to downgradient alluvium. <br />Olson Spring, which has an adjudicated domestic water right associated with <br />it, issues from the Dry Creek Alluvium about 20 feet from Dry Creek. This <br />spring is located about 9,000 feet downstream from mining. <br />Both Hubberson Gulch and Dry Creek may potentially be impacted by <br />mining, specifically by spoils discharge recharging the streams. Dependent <br />upon the time of year, Dry Creek may be recharging its alluvium, or the <br />alluvium may be adding water to the creek. Furthermore, dependent upon <br />local conditions, discharges from the predicted spoils aquifer may infiltrate <br />the Hubberson Gulch alluvium. This water may flow through the alluvium <br />downgradient to recharge the Dry Creek alluvium from which Olson Spring <br />issues. <br />It is projected by the applicant that, due to dilution, there will be no impact <br />to Olson Spring quality which may be attributed to mining. An alluvial <br />cross-section of wells in Hubberson Gulch upgradient of the spring will help <br />monitor the advance of any plume in that gulch. A water quality monitoring <br />plan was initiated at Olson Spring to provide baseline data of this spring. <br />Seneca Coal Company has included a plan for an alternative water supply in <br />the event that local water rights are adversely impacted by mining. The <br />plan is included in Tab 16 of the permit. <br />Ten springs which are present in or adjacent to the permit area were chosen <br />for further study. At each of these sites, three water quality and discharge <br />measurements were made during the summer and fall of 1983. Typically, <br />quality and quantity varied from spring to spring. <br />In general, the water was very hard with average TDS values ranging from <br />458 mg/I to 2,150 mg/l. Sulfate was generally more dominant than <br />bicarbonate. All but two springs experienced a decline in flow during the <br />course of the summer. Five had dried up by late August, three others <br />flowed less water during base flow and two were flowing at about the same <br />rate in October as in June. <br />Three springs, Olson Spring, S-5, and 5-41, are expected to be impacted by <br />mining, one of which, 5-41, feeds a registered stock pond. Olson Spring is <br />an adjudicated domestic water right. A discussion of this can be found in <br />Section III F. -Assessment of Probable Hydrologic Consequences of Mining. <br />Seneca has committed to performing a spoil spring survey following <br />snowmelt each year, with locations of springs of greater than 10 GPM of <br />discharge to be reported to the Division by the end of May. An annual <br />total of approximately 2 full-suite samples and 4 field parameters samples <br />23 <br />