REP16447 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

West Elk Mine 2003 Annual Hydrology Report The mining activities at the West Elk Mine have shifted to the east and south away from the west. The current mining operations are being developed in the Box Canyon and Deep Creek drainage areas in longwall panel 17. Development mining is proceeding in longwall panels 22 and 23 (see Map 1). Future plans involve the longwall mining of the B and E coal seams in the South of the Divide permit area and the Dry Fork and West Flatiron LBA areas. Mining in the central portion of the Project (Southwest Panel area, Panel 13) was completed in 2001. The Northwest Panel area was mined in 1995 (Panel 7) and the far west side of the mine, the Jumbo Panels, (Panels 8 and 9) were completed in 1997. As the Project's mining operations shift from the west side of the Project area to the south and east, the Project's hydrologic monitoring system must be revised accordingly. A hydrologic monitoring system must be established in future mine areas, so that baseline data can be collected prior to mining. Once mining begins, the revised monitoring system will be used to monitor potential mining related impacts. In the past four years, mining induced hydrologic impacts in the Gribble Gulch area (western Project area) have not been observed or have returned to pre-mining condition. As a result, the hydrologic monitoring sites in this area no longer need to be routinely checked (MCC, 2000, 2001, 2002, and this report). Reducing the monitoring requirements in this area and expanding the monitoring system into the south and east Project area is recommended. The original monitoring system and subsequent revisions do not effectively cover the eastern edge of the Project area. 6.1 Mining Induced Hydrologic Impacts In the past four years, there have been no mining related hydrologic impacts reported in surface water or spring resources in the western Project area, specifically the Gribble Gulch area (MCC, 2000, 2001, 2002, and this report). Gribble Gulch was undermined from 1995 to 1997, over 5 years ago. Future mining related hydrologic impacts in this area are not anticipated. 6.2 Proposed Revisions to the Project's Hydrologic Monitoring System Proposed revisions include phasing out the monitoring of springs in the Gribble Gulch area, including G-26, G-28a, G-3Q G-31, G-35, and G-49 and adding major springs identified during a spring and seep survey (to be conducted in the fall of 2004. The surface water monitoring station in Gribble Gulch should be eliminated and new stations should be added if deemed necessary after the 2004 field survey. 34 September zooa HydroGeo, Inc.