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(REVSSED 3-9-95) <br />aerial No. C-1362 <br />NO SIIRFACB OCCIIPANCY STIPIILATION <br />1PETLANDS/FLOODPLAIN9/RIPARIAN AREAS <br />• No surface occupancy or use ie alloyed on the lands de£iaed ae a Netland, a <br />Ploodplain, or a Riparian area except Then a waiver, exception, or modification <br />(-PE4S) to this stipulation ie granted. See 978lS clause below. <br />Wetlands, Floodplains sad Riparian Areas are defined as: <br />Wetlands: A Federal Manual which defines jurisdictional wetlands was <br />jointly developed by the II.S. Corp of Engineers, the Soil Conservation <br />Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service. (January 1989) This definition is adopted. In general, wetlands <br />are defined by the presence of: permanent or seasonal water; water loving <br />vegetation; and soil characteristics• influenced by saturated conditions. <br />All three of these conditions must exist in order to qualify as a wetland. <br />(Page III-54, Oil and Gas Leasing EIS) <br />Floodplains: This is a strip of relatively smooth land adjacent to a river <br />channel, constructed by the' present river in its existing regimen and <br />covered with water when the river overflows its banks. It is built of <br />alluvium carried by the river during floods and deposited in the sluggish <br />water outside. the influence of .the swiftest current. A river has only one <br />floodplain but may have one or more terraces .representing. .abandoned <br />floodplains. (Page III-50, Oil and Gas Leasing EIS) <br />' Riparian Areas: Geographically delineated areas with. distinctive resource <br />values and characteristics that are comprised 'of the aquatic and riparian <br />ecosystems.(FSM~WO~ 2500-94-4 .pg 17) They may be associated with lakes, <br />reservoirs, estuaries, potholes, marshes, streams, bogs, wet meadows, and <br />. ~ intermittent .or permanent streams .where ..free and unbound water is <br />. ~ ~ available. (Page VII-13, Oil and Gas Leasing EIS) The riparian ecosystems <br />are "transitional areas" between the aquatic ecosystem and the adjacent <br />terrestrial ecosystem; identified by soil characteristics or distinctive <br />vegetation communities, and are characterized by species and/or life forms <br />that are different from those of the immediately surrounding non-riparian <br />climax area. (Page III-52, Oil and Gas Leasing EIS) <br />The application of the definition for wetlands, floodplains, and riparian <br />areas to ground conditions will determine whether the stipulation applies. <br />When facilities and activities associated with coal mining must occur in <br />these areas, impacts to these areas will be minimized and mitigated. Roads <br />will cross streams at right angles and access across other areas subject to <br />this stipulation will be held to a minimum. Streams will not be <br />parallelled by roads through these areas other than to the extent necessary <br />for crossings. <br />The width of adjacent. upland areas which will come under .jurisdiction of <br />this stipulation will be dependent on slope steepness, and the kind, <br />amount, and location of surface and vegetation disturbance. (The GMUG <br />Amended Land and Resource Management Plan, Page III-75 provides guidelines <br />for these areas.) <br />The following roads. have been in existance for many years and portions of <br />them traverse through riparian areas. The roads are deemed necessary for <br />