PERMFILE132469

• Permit No: C1980007A
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 6/2/2006
• Section_Exhibit Name: 2.05.4 Reclamation Plan
• Media Type: D
• Archive: Yes

• five years of data have been accumulated, the annual laboratory analysis will only include TDS,
TSS, pH, conductivity and iron (dissolved and total). A seasonal, rather than quarterly or semi-
annual water quality monitoring schedule was instituted for a variety of reasons. The primary
reason for selecting seasonal sampling is that, in many instances, particulazly streamflow and spring
flows, these aze the only periods of measurable flow. Most of the streams aze ephemeral or
intermittent at best, and nearly all of the springs aze ephemeral except in the wettest yeazs. The
baseline data cleazly indicate that there is no reason to attempt to sample these locations during
winter. The adverse conditions encountered in the remote areas of the West Elk Mine lease azea
severely hamper sampling procedures and influence the collection of meaningful data. As a result,
by restricting sampling to the periods of flow and ensuring sample integrity, Mountain Coal
Company will be able to provide meaningful data to the agency while reducing the costs associated
with collecting unnecessary data or data that is not meaningful.
Mountain Coal Company has selected the water quality pazameters in Table 4, Exhibit 71 for
routine measurement because they will adequately characterize the quality of the water. Annual
full-suite monitoring (and the reduced pazameter list) will allow Mountain Coal Company to
identify possible mining-induced changes in water quality.
West Elk Mine, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service District Office in Paonia, Colorado, has
agreed to informally monitor the U.S. Forest Service surface water resources, as depicted on the
U.S. Forest Service Water Resources Map, that aze located directly over panels to be mined, and
within the angle-of--draw per the agreement letter in Exhibit 19C.
Spring Monitoring
In 1977 Mountain Coal Company began a spring water monitoring program that incorporated
monthly, quarterly and semi-annual monitoring of flow and/or water quality. Map 37 shows the
springs identified on the West Elk Mine lease azea, the monitored springs, the springs sampled for
water quality, and the locations of the decreed springs on the West Elk Mine lease area and vicinity.
Map 34 shows the location of springs currently in the monitoring program. The most recent
Annual Hydrology Report provides a graphic representation of the flow data available for the
springs monitored and water quality data.
It is estimated that it might be some time before secondary recovery mining will take place south of
the Minnesota Creek watershed divide. As a result, there is no need to operate and maintain the
entire spring monitoring network until mining advances to a point where a specific spring might be
impacted. Rather, monitoring of some of the springs will be stopped until the summer before
mining impacts can be expected, at which time monitoring of appropriate springs will be resumed.
Monitoring will continue, on a seasonal basis, for the springs in the approved monitoring program
as listed on Table 4, Exhibit 71.
In the Minnesota Creek drainage basin, monitoring was discontinued for springs J-4, J-7, J-10 and
WCC-23 until the summer before mining impacts can be expected, at which time monitoring of
these springs will be resumed. Monitoring of spring J-4 was reinitiated in 1996. Monitoring of a
group of three springs (G-25, G-28a and G-31) in Gribble Gulch and one spring (G-26a) in Lone
• Pine Gulch were discontinued for several years due to access being blocked by landslides. The
monitoring of spring G-26a in Lone Pine Gulch, spring G-25 (#15, Jumbo Spring No. 2 Pond) and
2.05-73 Revised Dec. 1997 MR208; Revised Jon. 1999 TR88; Rev. Apri(1006 PRI G