Laserfiche WebLink
• II.1 Assessment of Groundwater <br />All wells at the Mt. Gunnison No. 1 Mine were completed for <br />monitoring purposes. There are no water supply wells in the Mt. <br />Gunnison permit area and adjacent area. Water supply wells are <br />found in the alluvium of the North Fork valley downstream of the <br />mine. It is unlikely that groundwater will ever be developed in <br />the Mesaverde Formation in the vicinity of the Mt. Gunnison No. 1 <br />Mine. The low permeabilities, limited storage and considerable <br />depth to groundwater prohibit the development of groundwater. <br />Borehole and observation well data for the Mt. Gunnison No. 1 <br />Mine and other mines in the area indicate the entire Mesaverde <br />• Formation is not an aquifer. (West Central Colorado EIS, Vol. 1; <br />Colorado Westmoreland MRP, Set 4, Vol. 6, App. A; Mt. Gunnison <br />No. 1 Mine MRP, Exhibit 3.4.8.a; U.S. Steel Somerset Mine MRP, <br />Sec. 204.1). <br />The bedrock sandstones within the Mt. Gunnison Coal Lease Area <br />were found to have low perm~bilities. Over 100 boreholes were <br />drilled with air and mist and most were dry. Where water was en- <br />countered, 2 to 3 gpm was the most water produced from the <br />Mesaverde Formation. <br />Well test data contained in Mt. Gunnison No. 1 Mine MRP, Table <br />2.8.2.A and subsequent tests conducted by ESA(1982) show low <br />permeabilities. The well test report is included as Appendix D. <br />• Individual sandstone strata are of limited extent. Exploration <br />boreholes drilled on approximately one-half mile centers across <br />_28_ <br />