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The portion of the TAHR that encroaches within 100 feet of Sage Creek is located near the intersection <br />• with County Roed 51 B, west of the three existing culverts through which Sage Creek flows. The toe <br />of the haul road embankment and associated topsoil removal area will be approximately 50 feet west of <br />the closest culvert. <br />The original road location was approximately 350 feet to the west of the culverts. Due to concerns <br />raised by the County government regarding sight distance, school bus traffic, powerlines, and multiple <br />intersections, the road was moved closer to the Sage Creek culverts. <br />The haul road ditches are designed to handle the runoff from a 10-year, 24-hour storm event and <br />should preclude the potential of any water quality degradation in Sage Creek as a result of these <br />associated disturbances within the buffer zone. Because the anticipated operations will not result in <br />disturbance of the main channel, there should be no impact to the quantity of streamflow in Sage <br />Creek from the buffer zone disturbance. <br />After mining and related activities, the following reclamation plan for the area will be implemented to <br />help insure the reestablishment of meadow type vegetation that would be similar to grassland meadow <br />vegetation in the area and which will also stabilize the reclaimed landscape and provide utility to <br />livestock and wildlife. <br />• The areas within the butter zone that may potentially be affected are dominated by weedy species <br />resulting from the Sage Creek flood in 1985, though some seeded pasture species also occur (see Tab <br />101. Adjacent undisturbed stands will reinvade the reclaimed areas by means of plant popagules (seed <br />or extension of rhizomesl, establishing existing species such as willows, in addition to the species <br />contained in Seed Mix No. 2. <br />Anticipated disturbance relates only to those activities necessary for the construction of a portion of <br />the haul road embankment. Salvaged topsoil will be replaced following necessary grading to reclaim <br />the road and shape the final contours. As part of seedbed preparation, the replaced topsoil will be <br />disked with the first pass made partially into adjacent native vegetation to "tie" the reclaimed and <br />native sites together, Revegetation will follow the methods described in Tab 22, Revegetation. Seed <br />Mix No. 2 will be seeded in reclaimed areas within the stream buffer zone area that will be affected by <br />the small amount of haul road disturbance. This mix contains a number of species already present in <br />this disturbed type, in addition to a number of desirable species. Maintenance, monitoring, and <br />management activities era detailed in remaining sections of Tab 22, Revegetation Plan. <br />The foregoing discussion has been provided to support SCC's request for approval to disturb a small <br />amount of land within the buffer zone to a perennial stream. The request is founded on SCC's <br />commitment to protect the hydrologic balance by minimizing and mitigating the disturbance using the <br />• above-referenced engineering design and mining and reclamation plans. This request was approved as <br />TR 02. <br />15 Revised 9/98 <br />