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applicant will also continue monitoring of surface water to determine <br /> the impact of mining on the hydrologic regime. <br /> Much of the surface water flow in the lease block is due to snowmelt <br /> with dry season flows mostly supplied by sources at higher elevations <br /> on West Elk outside the lease block. Mining activities will not have a <br /> significant effect on snowmelt runoff or sources outside the lease <br /> block. Life of mine operations in F, B, and E Seams are not expected <br /> to have an impact on streams as subsidence and propagation of <br /> fractures are to be minimized under the proposed mine plan sections <br /> contained within the permit document. <br /> Minnesota and Beaver Reservoirs are both located below the outcrop <br /> of the F Seam coal. These reservoirs are used to store water for <br /> irrigation and will not be directly affected by mining the F Seam. The <br /> portions of lower coal seams under the reservoirs, including the E and <br /> B Seams, are legally severed from the lease. <br /> Several springs that feed into Minnesota Creek could be affected by <br /> mining to the extent that the flow is decreased or that they completely <br /> dry out. Generally, it is not expected that the flow in Minnesota Creek <br /> will be decreased significantly as a result of mining the F Seam. <br /> During the next five-year permit term, no mining will take place south <br /> of the Minnesota Creek Basin drainage divide with the exception of a <br /> small area adjacent to the divide where the B Seam main entries will <br /> be located. It is expected that these main entries will not impact the <br /> hydrologic balance of the Minnesota Creek Basin. A detailed <br /> discussion of measures taken to assess and ensure the protection of the <br /> Minnesota Creek water supply is contained in Exhibit 58 of the permit <br /> document entitled, "Protection of Minnesota Creek Water Supply." <br /> During Water Year 1982, the conditional right to withdraw water from <br /> the North Fork was deemed absolute. When this water right is in <br /> priority, water can be pumped from the intake point to the freshwater <br /> pond. This water right is expected to be out of priority from July to <br /> September. <br /> The freshwater pond (FW-1) has a ten acre-foot capacity. Average <br /> withdrawals from the North Fork of the Gunnison are not expected to <br /> exceed 400,000 gallons per day (gpd) during the term of the permit <br /> and are likely to be on the order of 200,000 gpd. The freshwater pond <br /> is filled during spring runoff and kept full until water rights are out of <br /> priority. The water is either treated to meet potable and sanitary water <br /> requirements, used and then treated as sanitary waste water, or <br /> withdrawn for dust suppression in the mine and becomes mine water. <br /> The potential effects of this water diversion on North Fork flows are <br /> developed for both flow rates and flow volumes. With the existing <br /> 40 <br />