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and Assocla~es, LC <br />• 1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />Mountain Coal Company, LLC's (MCC) West Elk Mine, which has been in operation since <br />1982, is located in the Piceance Basin ofwest-central Colorado approximately one mile east <br />of the town of Somerset (Figure 1). This report describes [he hydrogeology of the West Elk <br />Mine permit and adjacent areas. Although the hydrology of the permit and surrounding areas <br />has been previously characterized in the Mining and Reclamation Plan, additional <br />hydrogeologic characterization is needed because: <br />1) the mine area has incrementally increased since 1982, <br />2) the number and locations ofquarterly monitoring locations have been modified <br />several times, and <br />• 3) in-mine conditions have gone from essentially a dry environment where only <br />nuisance groundwater was encountered to the present condition where substantial <br />fault-related groundwater inflows have occurred. <br />Since 1982, approximately 21 streams and ponds, 70 springs, 45 wells and 10 in-mine <br />locations have been periodically monitored for discharge rate or water level and solute <br />chemistry. Locations of these sampling locations are shown on Plate 1. In all, thousands of <br />sampling events have taken place. These data have recently been compiled into an electronic <br />database by Wright Water Engineers and MCC. MCC currently monitors 25 wells, 20 <br />surface water sites, and 38 springs. These locations, geologic setting and other data pertinent <br />to the current monitoring stations are listed in Tables la and 16. <br />r1 <br />LJ <br />Characterization of Groundwater Systems in the Vicinity of the West Elk Mine, Somerset, Colorado <br />29 January 1999 <br />Page I <br />