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the southern and eastern portions of the peanit area are dominated by the Williams Fork Mountains and the <br />river beds of the Yampa and Williams Fork Rivers. <br />The Eagle Mine sites are located in an area, which has been historically mined by surface and underground <br />mining. The earliest records of mining indicate that underground mining began in this area in the late 1920's <br />and early 1930's, while surface strip mining began around 1975. The major mines which have operated in the <br />past are: 1) Wise Hill (1,2,3,4}, Williams Fork Strip (1,2,3), and Trapper Strip. The Trapper Strip Mine <br />began operations in 1976 and has continued to date. <br />Underground mining began at the Eagle No. 5 Mine in 1972, under a subsidiary of the Zigler Coal Co. The <br />Cypms Empire Corporation (CEC), a subsidiary of the Cypms Coal Company, subsequently acquired the <br />mines from Zigler in 1982, and began operating under an approved Colorado Mine Land Reclamation Board <br />permit in August, 1983. In 1999, CEC was acquired by RAG EC. In Apri12004, RAG EC was acquired by <br />Peabody Energy and the mine renamed BTU EC. <br />Hydrologic monitoring has been conducted at the mine site since 1980, primarily by CEC/RAG ECBTU EC <br />personnel. A private company (Miller Water Monitoring Service) has also been contracted to assist with <br />some of the hydrologic monitoring over the last few years. Water quality samples are currently analyzed by <br />CT&E laboratories of Denver, Colorado, and ACZ Laboratories, Ina, of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, both <br />USEPA certified laboratories. Prior to October 1999, sample analysis was conducted by ACZ laboratories, <br />Inc., of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. <br />The Eagle No. 5 Mine, mining the "F' Coal Seam of [he Cretaceous Age Williams Fork Formation, originally <br />utilized room-and-pillar mining methods until 1985, when economics dictated a change to the longwall <br />mining method. The aerial extent of the underground workings in the Eagle No. 5 Mine was approximately <br />2,040 acres in early 1990, when the No. 5 mine was sealed and mining moved to the Eagle No. 6 Mine. Full <br />production in the Eagle No. 6 Mine began in ]ate 1990, with coal extraction from the underlying "E" Coal <br />Seam of the Williams Fork Formation. Coal mined at the No. 5 and No. 6 Mines was loaded on unit trains at <br />the mine facility area and hauled by rail to market. The SA portals and a short section of the No. 5 Mine <br />mains were used for access to the Eagle No. 6 Mine. The aerial extent of the underground workings in the <br />Eagle No. 6 Mine (underlying portions of the No. 5 Mine) was approximately 640 acres at in late 1995, when <br />mining ceased. The mines have been in temporary cessation ever since, therefore, during 2005, no active <br />mining took place at either of the Eagle Mine sites, and total mined acreage has not changed. <br />3.0 2005 HYDROLOGIC MONITORING PROGRAM <br />The BTU EC hydrologic monitoring program includes data collected specifically to meet requirements of the <br />DMG, as well as data collected to meet the requirements of the Colorado Wastewater Discharge Permit <br />• System (CDPS). Note that "CDPS" parameters were formerly referred to as National Pollutant Discharge <br />Elimination System (NPDES) parametere in prior AHRs. Specific monitoring locations are illustrated on <br />2 <br />I:\Env\Empire\AH R\2005\Text\Empire2005AHR.doc <br />