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<br />Mountains. southwest of the lease area. but before the stream crosses the <br />mine lease area. the City of Florence diverts the entire flow most of the <br />year. The City maintains a surface diversion and an infiltration gallery <br />to collect both surface flow and subsurface alluvial flow from Newlin <br />Creek. The collected water is diverted by pipeline to storage reservoirs <br />below the diversion structures. Typically, water flows in Newlin Creek <br />below the City'e diversions only during infrequent periods of high <br />discharge. The eater rights owned by the City of Florence are the only <br />rights located on Newlin Creek and since they normally divert almost all <br />available etreemflow. they are limited only by physical supply. According <br />to the District {later Commissioner. the only times the City of Florence <br />does not divert all available s[resmflow are for short periods during very <br />high runoff from spring snowmelt or summer thunderstorms. <br />The heedwatere of the Newlin Creek drainage basin (see Figure 1) are above <br />10.000 feet in elevation and receive substantial amounts of snow. <br />Although Newlin Creek is not gaged by the D.9. Geological Survey. <br />streamflow can be inferred from the diversions by the City of Florence <br />(Table 1). The records reveal that nearly two-thirds of the average <br />annual runoff occuzred during the three spring months of April. May and <br />June - a direct result of snowmelt. Since snowfall and snowpack <br />accumulation generally increase with elevation. high areas of a enovmelt <br />drainage basin contribute more to spring runoff than low areas. The <br />Southfield Mine lease property lies at an elevation range of between 6.100 <br />and 6.700 feet. which is relatively low in the basin and ezperiences <br />relatively little enovpack accumulation. Ae a result. this land area <br />contributes little to Newlin Creek's total amount of runoff. <br />The primary coal bearing formation in the synclinal basin is the Vermejo. <br />which is approzimately 925 feet [hick near the center of the lease area. <br />A generalized atratigraphie column of the mine site vicinity is show on <br />' Figure 4. The coal units currently being mined by Energy Fuels Coel. Inc. <br />are the Red Arrow and Dirty Jack O'Lantern. which lie approzimately 325 <br />- 7 - <br />