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4. <br />Sec. 31. Special Stipulations (continued) <br />. (c) The Lessee shall replace in a manner consistent with state law the eater <br />suppl:: of anv owner of a vested water right which is proximately injured as <br />a result of the mining activities. <br />(d) ;'ire lessee shall formulate a rater replacement plan to replace lire possible <br />loss of water presently adjudicated and historically put to beneficial use in <br />Coal. Gulch, East Roatcap Creek, West Roatcap Creek, Stevens Gulch and Terror <br />Creek. The aster replacement plan for each respective drainage shall be <br />developed after consultation with affected water right users, and federal and <br />state authorities, and shall be approved by state authorities before mining in <br />the particular drainage. <br />(e) As part of each water replacement plan the lessee shall furnish information, to <br />the BLM, which demonstrates its legal and physical ability to implement said <br />plan. A source of replacement aster may include, but is not limited to, the <br />transfer of water rights,an augmentation plan, a long term water use lease, or <br />compensatory storage. <br />(f) In the East Roatcap Creek watershed, an acceptable plan (submitted as part of <br />the mine plan) prepared in consultation with affected water right users, and <br />federal and state authorities, shall be for the lessee to re-route the water <br />in East Roatcap Creek diverted from the Overland Ditch, around the coal lease <br />tract. In addition, the plan shall show that protection can be provided <br />through supplementation, improvement of conveyance systems, or other comparable <br />means, for East Roatcap Creek surface runoff water presently adjudicated and <br />• put to beneficial use which is subject to potential injury resulting from coal <br />mining. The re-routed water which is presently released into East Roatcap Creek <br />from the Overland Ditch, will be diverted to West Roatcap Creek (via Overland <br />Ditch) and delivered to the original points of use without causing injury to the <br />water quality, quantity, or timing. The re-routing of valet shall be carried <br />out before any mining occurs in the watershed which the eater is currently <br />conveyed and in a manner which avoids interruption of water delivery. <br />(g) Coal extraction will be limited in buffer zones established along East <br />Roatcap Creek and Stevens Gulch where the overburden is 600 feet thick or less <br />in order to prevent all surface and subjacent disturbance to the overburden. <br />If necessary, access entryways needed to extract the coal on the west side of <br />these water courses will be permitted though the buffer zones. The buffer <br />zones will include the above mentioned bank-full stream channels and the <br />alluvial/colluvial fill associated with them. The angle of draw used to <br />protect these areas from subsidence will be dictated by site-specific geologic <br />and mining conditions (the estimated angle of drav for the Mesa Verde <br />formation is 15 to 20 degrees). <br />(h) On the lease tract, the coal extraction process will be designed and <br />conducted pursuant to the rules and regulation of the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Board. <br />(i) The lessee, before issuance of the mine permit, will conduct and provide <br />to BLM an inventory of all existing state adjudicated water rights in and <br />adjacent to the lease tract which may be impacted by subsequent mininE activities. <br />At a minimum, this inventory will include: the water right holder, location, <br />source, amount of decree, beneficial use, historical flow, and the appropriation <br />and adjudication dates. <br />(j) Existing cross-tract and on-tract water flows shall be maintained h~• the lessee <br />even following release of the permit bond by the Colorado State Mined Land Reclama;i~~i. <br />Board. Compliance with this mitigation shall be assured by an increase in the BLt•f <br />administered lease bond.for a monetary amount and f_or a time period to be determined <br />in consultation with state and federal authorities, affected water users, and <br />the lessee. <br />{k) State-of-the-art mining techniques (pillar and panel widths, rate of coal <br />development and extraction, mine method, determining angle of draw, etc .1 shall <br />be used In areas identified in Unsuitability Criteria 2, 3, 14, and 1~~ (maps <br />attached) to control subsidence. These techniques would provide for maximum <br />coal removal while insuring that sufficient coal is left in place to l~re~~ent <br />subsidence. <br />