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MEETING WITH WATER USERS -EAST AND MAIN ROATCAP DRAINAGE <br />October 09, 1984 <br />• Page two <br />and bedrock water which is the water encountered in the mine. Because of <br />the chemical make-up and seasonal differences between the two, it is felt <br />they are not related. <br />During a study last summer, 41 total ponds, springs, etc. were identi- <br />fied in the East Roatcap drainage basin. Eleven of these were monitored <br />each month. Quarterly lab samples were taken for chemical testing. In the <br />West Roatcap area, 14 ponds or springs were monitored on a monthly basis. <br />There are 2,311 acres in the East Roatcap drainage basin; 173 of these <br />acres are in the lease area. In West Roatcap there are 10,008 acres with <br />only 299 acres presently in the lease. <br />The possible effects of subsidence were also studied. Geo-Hyrdo, a <br />consultant to CWI, was hired to do an objective, third-party study on coal <br />mining subsidence. The USGS studied the subsidence. The conclusions of <br />these studies were that if there was more than 600 feet of overburden above <br />the coal, there would be no surface damage as a result of mininy the coal. <br />CWI has added an additional two hundred feet to be on the conservative <br />side. BLM, in order to protect Steven's Gulch and Roatcap, added stipula- <br />tions to the lease requiring that development mining only would be done on <br />• the lease in these buffer areas. Therefore the pillars would be left <br />standing under these stream drainages where there is overburden of less <br />than 800 feet. Two times during each year the area previously mined by CWI <br />is measured to determine if any subsidence is occurring. This will be an <br />ongoing project. <br />Atatt Sakurada then talked about the water protection plans and the <br />lease stipulations which have been attached by BLM. The lease boundary <br />lines were drawn so that CWI would not min e under Terror Creek. On the <br />West the boundaries were set up so that CWI would not mine u nder the Stuck- <br />er Mesa Pipeline Springs or under the West Roatcap channel or streambed. <br />If subsidence did occur and water flowed into the mine, the first <br />response would be to repair the problem area. <br />The protection plan includes: <br />1) determining the location of the lease lines; <br />2) provision of a buffer zone where the overburden is less than 600 <br />feet so that cracks will not develop. Only limited mining would <br />be allowed in the buffer zones. Retreat mininy would not be done, <br />leaving pillars to support the surface. <br />3) a surface water rights inventory. HydroDynamics, a consulting <br />firm in Denver, was hired to search the records and provide a list <br />• <br />