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Section 779.15 (a) Continued. Revised 11/20/80 <br />• <br />Mine Plan and Adjacent Area <br />Depth and Extent of Aquifers <br />Ground water occurrence in the mine plan and adjacent area is docu- <br />mented by several means in this application. Ground water was en- <br />countered in the overburden, the Sudduth coal seam and the under- <br />burden during exploration drilling. Ground water was also found in <br />upland terrace deposits and stream-laid deposits. Each of these <br />geologic strata was examined to determine if it meets the defini- <br />tion of an "aquifer" in 30 CFR 701.5. Aquifer means a zone, <br />stratum, or group of strata that can store and transmit water in <br />sufficient quantities for a specific use. <br />The investigation of ground water occurrence involved the collec- <br />tion of data on all saturated strata in the mine plan and adjacent <br />area, which is presented in this Section. Raw data have been <br />reduced by standard scientific and statistical methods to make <br />interpretations and reach conclusions. The result of this inves- <br />tigation was the identification of three aquifers in the mine plan <br />and adjacent area; upland terrace deposits, stream-laid deposits, <br />and the Sudduth coal seam. The overburden and the stratum im- <br />mediately below the Sudduth coal seam were found not to meet the <br />definition of an aquifer in 30 CFR 701.5. Specifically, these <br />strata were found to possess insufficient permeability to store and <br />transmit water for a specific use, based on aquifer test data <br />collected by the U.S. Geologic Survey and Kerr Coal. Documentation <br />of the permeabilities of the overburden and underburden is pre- <br />sented in this Section and Exhibit 54, Aquifer Test Data. The <br />depth and extent~of the three aquifers which occur in the mine plan <br />and adjacent area is described below. <br /> <br />779-28 bb <br />