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West Elk Mine 2003 Annual Hydrology Report <br />WY2002. A number of sites have been dry for over a year including E-14-1 and G-30. Several <br />springs do not flow but are typically wet in the spring season. These include G-26A, G-28A, G- <br />lA, 15-1, 10-1, 10-2, 11-2, G-31, and G-35. These springs are impacted by lowing ground water <br />levels due to continued drought conditions. There is no indication that the reduced flows were the <br />result of mining activities. <br />Water quality data from WY2003 did not indicate changes from baseline conditions for any of the <br />monitored springs with the exception of spring G-7, 27-1, 26-1, J-4. Most trace constituent <br />concentrations measured from G-7 and 27-1 exceeded the baseline maximum values in WY2003 as <br />they did in WY2002. Springs 26-1 and J-4 had slightly elevated TDS levels in WY2003. These <br />increased concentrations are likely due to low flow rates during the sampling period in June 2003 <br />due to the drought and are not believed to be related to mining operations. However, MCC will <br />carefully watch the water quality of this spring to see if any water quality trends occur. <br />5.3 Stock Ponds and USFS Water Resources <br />Numerous stock ponds and USFS water resources are located in the mining area. The USFS sites <br />are summarized in Table 7. Locations of these sites are shown in Map 3. There was no reported <br />water lass or water quality issue at any of these sites in WY2003. <br />5.4 Grouud Water <br />MCC maintains a network of 19 monitoring wells throughout the permit and lease areas. Several <br />new wells were installed in September 2003, upper Dry Fork Alluvial well, lower Dry Fork <br />Alluvial well, SOM-3B, and SOM-3E. Baseline data collection for these wells started in <br />November 2003 and data will be presented in next years AHR. <br />The casings in several wells have collapsed in the past several years, likely the result of mining <br />induced subsidence. These wells include SOM-45-H1 (Sept. 2002), 5OM-2-H (Jul. 1999), SOM- <br />16-H (Sep. 2000), 96-27-1 (Apr. 2002), and SO.W-1 (Jun. 2002). Hydrologic data from these <br />wells is suspect or not available. A summary of the well monitoring schedule is in Table 4 and <br />well completion information is in Table 5. Locations of the stations are shown on Map 2. Well <br />water level data and water quality information are presented in Appendix F and G respectively. <br />5.4.1 Water Quantity and Quality <br />• There were no significant water quality changes in the wells during WY2003. However, there <br />were several changes noted in water level data. <br />32 <br />September 2004 HydroGeo, Inc. <br />