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• <br />ThE °~:na mining permit ap?Iiw tion orEdi_ts t-;^at a portion o_` `ts mine -.~flc:a <br />mil: comE from the alluvial aouifer of Trout Creek. Prater lei?Is in the acv-far <br />aouid lower as Huth ~~ tr/o feet in the vicinity of '`_he mine- <br />TY+e propcse6 underr.round ,yiddle Creek ,.=.ne :/ill be _'ccated beneat:; the !d_'dcLe <br />Creek alluvial agvif?rs. Miae d?materirq practices coula cause :/ater IeveSs to <br />drop ir. the acvifer. <br />T!;e cumulative effect of these three nines or, water ieveLs 'n t!;c alluvial acuifers <br />sh+ould bE insignificant. Nona of these :nines are located close enough to each <br />otter such that their 'rdividual water level cores o_` ~acline ~+ouid over_'a p. In <br />addition, the ratio o the arovnt of existioy water 'n the aquifers to the e:rpected <br />amounts cf .Tine inflows coming from the aquifer is so Zarge `hat it is urlikelu <br />that any in,.pict, uayond tae immediate vi ci ri ta• of ~t.`.~e mine, r+~oc13 be realized. It <br />is not e:;pec_2d that minino in the 7axca 3iver Easin will sianif_cantlu a',ect <br />water Iev_is in the re3ional alluvial aquifers in a ,.u.mule'iva fashion. <br />,~anv of the sine= in the basin have the potan*_ial to affect :;~ater gnaliiy ir. tae <br />region's alluvial ar.vifers. A reccrt by ha man Tenpo (Pishop, et ai. I33~) pre- <br />dicts that nininq Tay cummlativel~ affect the water ?uality ir, the .smpa P.iver, <br />Trout Creek, and Fish Cree.c. The degradation of the surfcce water ccali_y ~~:ouid <br />result from both mire-uon8 [:'a ter discharges and spoils-:rater discharces. Water <br />in the spoils at sevEral o` the large surface~sinES ;/ill disc•haroe to the allu•r,'al <br />acu_'_`ers. During _'o:/-flo+r periods, the alluvial squifc-rs c-scharce o the streams <br />pror_d~na muca of Ehe base flo:u. Thererere, it is reasonable tc assume that if <br />fire narrate r~rater gL'311t~: 15 curwlativ=ly impacted, then nhe al'uvial water <br />gvali~ty wi11 also be imcacted 'r, a sim±lar :sac. Nowe:•er, file ~,•ster naal'ty <br />degradation in the alluvial aquifer would rrcoabl~~ not nacres?nt as significant <br />of a.n impact as the surface mater qualitu aegradation. prior to min..^.g, the wester <br />gcality in the aquifers was generally saitabl_ for .rrigation and stock e~~ateriry <br />purposes and mareinal for deraestic uses. The esnected water oualitu deyrada~ion <br />in the 3Z:uS'lal agvif=rs wou_ld prob3blu not limit uses _`rom :+hat they were rricr <br />to mining. <br />Tra peer .dine CY.IS - Ground [data <br />This cordon of the C.Y25 will locus speci:ir_s11y cn the Trapper P!ire. The cn_'!' <br />otaer operation .tear the _Trapper oneraticr, is t;e Empire snE:rgy N_nes (Eagle ~5 <br />env €4). Both of the operators mine c•cal in the FIi_'lia,-rs FarF: formation. alt: ouch <br />got mining the same seams, taE operations are in close stret.:uraphic prozinitg to <br />aach other. .7s described earlier, operations at the ~'.npirE Snergy opera tixrs have <br />the i.otential tc :omet Nat=r lec-els in all `he aquifers above= the .Tine work_'ncs. <br />:1;esa are file Twenty-~ifile Sandstone, tr,e !?i~?d1e sandst~nE, t';° [dh_te sendste;.es, <br />the 1"a:npa River all:wial agvifc-r, and t:e [JiL'iams Fork Fiver alluvial aq~:ifer. <br />The Tranper ?•line is assent:ally hydro_oaicalLa isolated from aL of t.`.ese aquifers <br />Except rt,e Third i•76ite Sandstone. It is expected that tY.is =s t_,he only aquifer <br />that the .mines .night impact ~n a cu:nuiacive rasl:ion. <br /> ^.`.e ex^ected impacts arE different for each .nine. The Trapper !4ine may causE a <br /> sli?ht degradation of mater ovality `n the agi~ifer.Tha Entire E-.arc:r op?-ation <br /> .nay vac:; = a ,~~a te.r lave. cecli ne in the he r_.r.n:rZa ti c~e <br />as::i-°et. :.react of n.e tmc <br />• c::eratzcrs .mac _'i.-nit the cse of t.`.e ac: L-_ <br />~i_ar in v_==.~it of t.y? mica=s. 'lo cti~e- <br /> s_7ni=_'cant cv.mt:ia ti r_ b,ydroloeic i mpa cts are ant ci ~a fed. <br />