Laserfiche WebLink
r 1 <br />LJ <br />stable water level varying specifically from 14 to 25 feet below the base of <br />the E Seam was established while drilling through or immediately below that <br />specific depth. Microscopic analyses of sedimentary strata from these cored <br />holes suggest the presence of an aquifer with low transmissibility and a lim- <br />ited head. <br />Water quality of water specifically isolated within the Bowie or Lower <br /> <br />Coal member was obtained from one core hole. The results indicated a very <br />brackish water with 6,230 ppm dissolved solids. Full results of this analysis <br />can be found in Table III.C-1. Measured water flow from this zone was 0.33 <br />gallons per minute. The high values of bicarbonate and total alkalinity sug- <br />gest a well-buffered alkaline water, potentially capable of neutralizing acid <br />drainage waters that may be produced from mining coal in the Bowie Member, <br />Environmental Protection Agency Bulletin 600/7-77-067 "Paleoenvironment of <br />Coal and its Relation to Drainage Quality," suggests that framboidal pyrite, <br />responsible for acidic mine waters, is highly correlated to lower deltaic-back <br />barrier paleoenvironments represented by the Bowie Member (see Section III.B). <br />Water from the Bowie Member of the Mesa Verde Formation would not reach the <br />surface as a result of Western Slope Carbon's mining operations. All three <br />coal seams which WSC intends to mine are in the Paonia Member which lies above <br />the Bowie Member. <br />The coals which are being, or will be, mined at the Hawk's Nest Mine (E, <br /> <br />Wild, and D Seams) belong to the Paonia (Upper Coal) Member of the Mesa Verde. <br />The paleoenvironment of these coals is believed to be transitional Lower Delta <br />Plain to Upper Delta Plain-fluvial; hence, relatively low in framboidol pyrite. <br />No problem with acid mine water drainage at the Hawk's Nest Mine is anticipated. <br />Water samples to date have tested basic <br />Additional groundwater analyses are <br />contained in Appendix C. <br />33 <br />