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• No significant historical events have taken place within the permit area other than the past <br />mining activities. Only remnants remain of what was once a viable coal mining industry. <br />The Denver ~X. Rio Grande Western Railroad spur has long been abandoned; only with <br />careful observation can the old railroad bed be sited. The abandoned waste dumps and <br />deteriorating structures of the old coal mines can still be seen from State Highway 69. None <br />of the old mining sites have been associated with people important in local, state or national <br />history. None of the surviving physical remains of the coal mines have characteristics that <br />make them either more representative or more distinctive than many of the other <br />abandoned sites in the surrounding area. <br />There is nothing historic about the permit area. The sites of past coal mining are merely <br />old. The removal of old mining and associated sites did not constitute an impact on the <br />significant historical resources of the region. Instead, the mining and reclamation operations <br />were beneficial in eliminating subsidence, old waste dumps, and deteriorating structures. <br />With reclamation completed, the permit area will be useful as rangeland. <br />2.04.5 General Description of Hydrology and Geology <br />Following is a detailed description of geology, hydrology, and ground and surface water <br />quality and quantity of the permit area, the adjacent area, and the general area, as defined <br />in Section 1.04 (DEFINITIONS) of the Colorado Regulatory Program. <br />• Detailed data and information were collected, compiled, and analyzed by the Colorado Coal <br />Mining Company on the hydrology and geology of all lands within the proposed mine plan <br />area, the adjacent area, and the general area. This information was obtained from high <br />density exploration drilling, field investigations, geologic mapping, aerial photography, <br />topographic mapping, data from several pump tests and piezometers, extensive investigations <br />by independent consultants, and monitoring data from the Walsenburg climatological station. <br />The "general area" is defined by Section 1.04 as the topographic and groundwater basin <br />surrounding the permit area. This area, which includes several ephemeral watersheds and <br />a groundwater zone, allowed assessment of the probable cumulative impacts of the quantity <br />and quality of the surface and groundwater system. Both the "adjacent area" attd the "mine <br />plan area;' as defined in Section 1.04, lie within the "general area" as previously described. <br />A detailed description of the geology of the permit area, the adjacent area, and the general <br />area is contained under Section 2.04.6. Detailed groundwater information for the general <br />area, the adjacent area, and the permit area is set forth in the discussion under Section <br />2.04.7. The general area, with respect to surface water, is defined by two ephemeral <br />watersheds: the Maitlattd and the Gordon arroyos. The size of the general area for both <br />surface and groundwater was carefully chosen to be large enough to provide an adequate <br />assessment of the hydrological impacts of the mining operations at CCM#I. It is extremely <br />important to emphasize that the permit area contains many old abandoned underground <br />mining operations. Both subsidence and old waste dumps are widespread throughout this <br />• area. These old mines hindered CCM#I in obtaining "virgin" premining groundwater <br />2.04-7 <br />