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existence since 1951 and was operated under an interim permit issued by the Colorado <br /> Mined Land Reclamation Division (the "Division") on January 25, 1978, pursuant to the <br /> Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act. <br /> The New Elk mine permit has been transferred on three occasions. Permit rights were <br /> transferred from CF&I Steel Corporation to Wyoming Fuel Company on January 31, <br /> 1984. Permit rights were transferred from Wyoming Fuel Company to Basin Resources, <br /> Inc. (BRI) on March 29, 1993. Finally, permit rights were transferred from BRI to <br /> Picketwire Processing, LLC on April 27, 1997. <br /> Description of the Environment <br /> The mine site is located in a plateau area. The elevation of the surface facilities range <br /> from 7,400 to 7,800 feet. Land use in the area consists of cropland, rangeland, <br /> pastureland, and wildlife habitat. Livestock grazing and hay production on irrigated <br /> lands are the main agricultural practices conducted in the general area. A variety of <br /> large and small mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles are permanent or <br /> temporary residents of the area. <br /> The New Elk Mine is located in the western limb of the Raton Basin. The Raton Basin is <br /> a broad, asymmetric syncline whose axis trends north-south. Past mining at the New <br /> Elk mine was entirely within the Allen seam, stratigraphically located in the Raton <br /> Formation. The Poison Canyon Formation uncomformably overlies the Raton Formation. <br /> The Poison Canyon Formation has a thickness of approximately 200 feet and occurs <br /> only as small, isolated outcrops above an elevation of 8,000 feet. Unconsolidated <br /> quaternary alluvial and colluvial deposits overlie the Raton Formation in the low-lying <br /> areas. <br /> The rock strata dip approximately two degrees to the north-northeast. The permit area <br /> contains one steep, normal fault trending east-northeast with vertical displacement less <br /> than 25 feet. The Allen Seam lies from 450 to 900 feet below the surface. Immediately <br /> above the coal are interbedded sandstone, siltstone, and shales. Rocks of similar <br /> lithology also underlie the mined coal seam. <br /> The alluvium of the Middle Fork of the Purgatoire River is a significant aquifer in the <br /> permit and adjacent areas. The Purgatoire River originates several miles west of the <br /> mine in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range. It flows into the Arkansas River near Las <br /> Animas, Colorado, approximately 120 miles northeast of the mine. <br /> Portions of the Apache Canyon, Pete Canyon, and Ciruela Canyon drainages are found <br /> within the permit area. These basins contain intermittent and ephemeral streams that <br /> -3- <br />