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affected area. For further details see the Minnesota Creek Drainage Evaluation <br />section of the CHIS. Further, Stipulation No. 1 ensures that no mining will be <br />permitted within the Minnesota Creek basin until the Office of Mined Land <br />Reclamation has received a copy of an adjudicated plan of augmentation. <br />3. An environmental monitoring system shall be installed, maintained, and operated <br />by the permittee on all alluvial valley floors during surface coal mining and <br />reclamation operations and continued until all bonds are released in accordance <br />with Rule 3 (Rule 4.24.5(1)). <br />Currently, the water monitoring plan for the West Elk MinelMinnesota Creek <br />drainage includes: 1) continuous flow monitoring from stream gages located on <br />Lick Creek, Upper Dry Fork, Lower Dry Fork, Middle Dry Fork, Minnesota <br />Creek above Dry Fork, and Minnesota Creek below Dry Fork which includes <br />daily flow and maximum, minimum, and mean flows for each month; 2) <br />quarterly measurement of water quality (including pH, temperature, dissolved <br />oxygen, turbidity, and electrical conductivity) at gaging stations of all streams <br />previously mentioned, except for East Fork outflow from Beaver Reservoir; 3) <br />quarterly measurement of flow on five springs in the north half of the Dry Fork <br />Minnesota Creek basin; 4) quarterly measurement of precipitation at the Horse <br />Creek storage gage; and, 5) three new alluvial monitoring wells in the alluvium <br />of Dry Fork Minnesota Creek. The intensity of hydrologic monitoring for <br />surface and groundwater in the Minnesota Creek drainage is adequate as of the <br />date of this finding. Therefore, the application is in compliance with the <br />requirements of this section. Amore intensive monitoring program will need to <br />be developed prior to any mining within the Minnesota Creek drainage basin. <br />4. The surface coal mining operation would not materially damage the quantity and <br />quality of water in surface and underground water systems that supply those <br />alluvial valley Floors or portions of alluvial valley floors (Rule 2.06.8(5)). <br />The revised mining plan, subsidence protection plan, and augmentation plan for <br />the Mitnesota Creek drainage will insure that those AVF's will not be <br />significantly impacted. <br />XVIII. Operations on Prime Farmland <br />1. There are no prime farmlands within the West Elk Mine permit area. <br />XIX. Mountaintop Removal <br />1. This section does not apply to the West Elk Mine. <br />XX. Operations on Steep Slopes <br />1. This section does not apply to the West Elk Mine. <br />61 <br />