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• areas. Replacement of natural intermittent strua;u, wit:: mun- <br />made drainaEc controls would be nnavoidnblu in strip mining. <br />TmpacCS Co all fossils would he difficult to mitigate; some <br />would most certainly be des~ro;•ed gi.vcn the nature of ti:~ <br />stratigraphic section. Generally speai:inp„ these loses would <br />not be sibnificant. <br />Use of very larse equipment in ti~u proposed mining plan for <br />rapid removal of overburden and of coal would cause an un- <br />avoidable coal loss of about ten percent. <br />The only signi_`icanc ir..pact anticipated as a result of -.'ning <br />on the subject lease tracts is an increase in dissolved solids <br />load contributed to the Colorado River system because of <br />• increased leaching as ground-~.aater percolates through re_laimed <br />spoil materials. i~'ith appropriate mitigating measures, this <br />increased load probably can be reduced to less Chan 150 tons <br />per year. This is much less than would be expected from <br />farming a comparable area and probably is no more than ::ould <br />occur from comparable coal mining operations elsewhere i_y <br />Northwestern Colorado <br />If mining proceeds ac the Energy Fuels Mines, disturbance of <br />soil cannot be avoided. <br />Soil disturbance would lower natural soil productivity of tl~e <br />area to some degree by compaction, mixing natural soils and <br />causing accelerated erosion and sedime:itacion. On the area <br />• <br />152 <br />