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' ~ E~IT D <br />' MINING PLAN <br />The mining of sand and gravel will occur with frontend <br />loaders and vibrating-screen conveyor loaders. The frontend <br />' loaders will extract the sand and gravel from the banks and dump <br />the material onto the vibrating-screen where the material is <br />sized and then moved up a conveyor belt which empties into a <br />' waiting dump tuck or other haul vehicle. This process will be <br />used in all phases of mining. <br /> Topsoil will be removed by scrapers or bulldozers one acre <br />' at a time in front of the advancing pit. Past mining has not <br /> retained or stockpiled topsoil. The proposed mining sequence will <br /> allow for stockpiling of topsoil and reclaiming. Other <br />' earthmoving is not anticipated. <br />Water diversions and impoundments will not be required. <br />The area receives only 14.63 inches annual precipitation with <br />maximums in the months of May, June, July, and August. During <br />these months the precipitation is in the form of convective <br />' storms. Due to the morphology of the landscape, the pit is the <br />highest point, there is no potential, at least very little <br />potential, for runoff or run-in. There is very little watershed <br />that could contribute runoff to the site. The gravel and sand at <br />the site allows for very rapid infiltration of water. <br />Major disturbance will be limited to the active pit. <br />Presently the active pit area is about 9 acres. With the <br />implementation of the reclamation plan the northern end of the <br />existing pit area will have only minor disturbance. The major <br />disturbance will then be the acres where new mining is actually <br />taking place. <br />Overburden spoil piles will not be present. There is only <br />minimal topsoil to stockpile and there is no overburden. The <br />topsoil that is present in the northern portion of the pit (Photo <br />I-1) will be spread over the area that is being reclaimed <br />' (Exhibit E). <br />Moderate disturbance will encompass about 7 acres in the <br />' first part of the operation once reclamation is started. The <br />second year of operation the moderate disturbance will be reduced <br />to the 1 acre of active workings, and about 1 acre of roads. <br />' Minor disturbance in the first year will be limited to the 7 <br />acres of the existing pit that is being reclaimed. <br />Mining will proceed from the present pit south toward the <br />Buffalo canal. The operation will be extracting the sand and <br />gravel that occurs as a surface deposit in the area being <br />mined. The deposit thins and dissappears at the southern end of <br />the permit boundary where the landform is truncated and the <br />underlying Niobrara Formation surfaces. The mining operation can <br />4 <br />1 <br />