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i , <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Wyoming Fuel Company (WFC) has instituted a surface and ground water monto~ing <br />program at its New Elk and Golden Eagle Mines which are located six miles west of Weston <br />in Las Animas County, Colorado. Until late 1983, these mines were known as the Allen <br />and Maxwell which were owned and operated by CF&1 Steel Company. <br />During CF&I's permitting process with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation <br />Division, a permit for mining operations was approved with certain stipulations. <br />Stipulation 10 of the Maxwell decision and Stipulation 12 of the Allen decision require <br />monthly, quarterly and annual monitoring of water resource quality and quantity in the <br />area of the two mines so an adequate description of these resources can be made. This <br />data will also provide supporting information which will be utilized to respond to other <br />stipulations concerning the potential effects of mining on the hydrologic balance. <br />To this end, Wyoming Fuel has instituted a monitoring program of both the New Elk <br />and Golden Eagle Mines in February of 1984. As the mine permit areas are adjacent, the <br />monitoring program has been designed to assess the hydrologic balance of the entire area <br />as opposed to assessing each facility separately. The purpose of this report is to provide <br />the results of the first quarter of monitoring which has taken place during February, <br />March and April. <br />1.1 Site Description <br />As previously mentioned, the site is located approximately six miles west of Weston <br />in Las Animas County, Colorado (T33S, R68W). The two mines are situated in <br />mountainous terrain which provides numerous canyons contributing runoff to the series of <br />ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streams of the area. The surface facilities are <br />adjacent to the Purgatoire River which is the primary stream drainage of the area. The <br />general direction of stream flow is easterly to the confluence with the Arkansas River at <br />Las Animas, Colorado. <br />The closest weather station to the site is located at the Trinidad Airport (elevation <br />5,746 feet) approximately 30 miles east. Over a recording period of 50 years, total <br />precipitation averaged 13.5 inches. The majority of this precipitation occurs from April <br />to September, July recording the most rainfall in the form of rapidly moving <br />thundershowers. <br />