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Memo to Erica Crosby <br />Roadside North Portal Subsidence <br />page 2. <br />and aerial photos which you provided I would concur with Roadside's observation <br />that there are no structures. However, Jerry Creek, Coal Creek, and their alluvial <br />aquifers should qualify as a renewable resource lands. As such the operator <br />should have prepared a subsidence inventory and a control plan to prevent damage <br />to Jerry Creek, Coal Creek and their alluvial aquifers. Under the hydrology <br />portions of our regulations, the operator should also have addressed possible <br />impacts to Jerry Creek within the statement of probable hydrologic consequences <br />(PHC). Based upon our experience with Rapid Creek over the South Portal <br />workings of the Roadside Mine, its logical to believe that this problem can be <br />addressed adequately. Further, since you have not provided me any of the <br />hydrologic portions of the permit revision, this required treatment may have been <br />accomplished. <br />In my opinion the operator should be directed to provide a subsidence "survey" <br />(inventory & prediction) addressing the potential consequences of subsidence for <br />Jerry Creek and Coal Creek and their alluvial aquifers, if they exist. Assuming <br />Jerry Creek and Coal Creek can be demonstrated to be hydraulically similar to <br />Rapid Creek the experience with subsidence impacts to Rapid Creek would be <br />applicable. The subsidence control plan for Rapid Creek consisted of minimal <br />mechanical subsidence monitoring of the channel area, periodic visual inspection, <br />repair of any cracks in the immediate channel, and an inflow survey of the <br />underground workings. <br />The mechanical subsidence monitoring would probably consist of a few carefully <br />chosen monument locations immediately adjacent to the channel of Jerry Creek <br />over Uriit 1 in Sections 20 and 21 and a few monuments immediately adjacent to <br />the channel of Coal Creek, west of the waste piles, above Unit 1 in Section 29. I <br />assume the ground water hydrologic consequences of any related alluvial aquifers <br />could tie addressed with several alluvial monitoring wells, and any surface water <br />hydrology concerns could be satisfied with upgrade and downgrade surface flow <br />weirs. In this manner the questions of diversion of water due to subsidence <br />impact could be addressed. The visual inspections would consist of a semi- <br />annual walking inspection of the two channels. The mine inflow survey is a <br />simple mapping and recording of localized inflows and sump accumulation. <br />