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Mountain Coa! Compairy 1997 Annual Hydrology Report West E!A Mine Of the thirty-two monitored wells, eight were being monitored to establish or re-establish baseline • conditions during WY97. Baseline re-establishment was occurring at wells SOM-45-1, SOM-45-2, SOM-C-76 and SOM-23-H-1. Baseline conditions were being established for wells 96-2-2, 96-27- 1, RAV~b, and So.W-1 and So.W-3. Monitoring well SOM-45-1, completed in the Barren Member of the Mesaverde Formation in 1979, was to continue reestablishment of baseline conditions in WY97 (a continuation from WY96) bu[ was sampled under the regulaz monitoring program. This well will be monitored again for baseline conditions in WY98. Monitoring well SOM-45-H-2 was completed into the Barren Member of the Mesaverde Formation in 1979. This well is located in the South of Divide area and was monitored from 1979 until 1987 when a decision was made to curtail observations until a minimum of one year before mining in the azea. Reinstatement of this well occurred in WY96 and continued into WY97 to complete a minimum of one year to reestablish baseline conditions. This well will be incorporated into the regular monitoring program in WY98. Similarly, wells SOM-C-76 and SOM-23-H-1 were reinstated into the monitoring program in WY96. Well SOM-C-76 was completed into the F-Seam in 1978 and was monitored until ]987. Well SOM-23-H-1 was also constructed in 1978, but was monitored only during the first year before being dropped from the program. This well was completed in the B-Seam. Both wells were monitored in WY97 to reestablish baseline conditions. Monitoring well SOM-C-76 will be incorporated into the regular monitoring program in WY98. Because of continued observations of • cascading water in well SOM-23-H-1 and known landslide activity at the SOM-23 well cluster, this well will likely be removed from the monitoring program in a future revision application. Monitoring wells 96-2-2 and 96-27-1 were completed above and in the E-Seam, respectively, during the WY96. Baseline data collection began in the fall of 1996 and continued through WY97. Wells 96-2-2 and 96-27-1 will be incorporated into the regulaz monitoring program in WY98. Monitoring wells RAV-4b and So.W-1 were both completed into the B-Seam in 1995. Well RAV- 4b is located in the Box Canyon permit revision area, whereas well So.W-1 is located in the Apache Rocks permit revision area. Baseline data collection began in the spring of 1996 and continued through WY97. Both wells will be incorporated into the regular monitoring program in WY98. Monitoring well So.W-3 is located in the Apache Rocks permit revision area and was completed in the Rollins Sandstone in 1995. Baseline data collection began in the spring of 1996 and continued through WY97. This well will be incorporated into the regular monitoring program in WY98. Sampling Methods Monitoring measurements included field and laboratory parameters as identified in Footnpte No. 2 of Table 4. Static water levels were measured at each well. The field technician then sampled each well the same way each time the well was visited. In general, the groundwater wells in the vicinity of the West Elk Mine do not exhibit recovery within the time necessary to complete sampling. For this reason, as explained during the 1993 Perrttit Renewal, three casing volumes • of water aze not removed from the wells. Instead, a PVC thief with a brass foot valve is used to 831-0 2.4 0 Page 1 i rig t ater Engineers