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• Amore plausible explanation is that because these two wells are located in two different drainages and both are dry suggests that the water level, thus inflow, in the abandoned Somerset Mine has simply decreased for some unknown reason. Curiously, this decrease is coincident with the time of the mine fire event and pumping from the North Fork into the Sanbom Creek Mine. Flows also ceased just a few months earlier from Spring 8 (believed to have been from the old Oliver Mine D-seam workings). However, unlike the Oliver Mine, there is no portion of the abandoned B- and C-seam workings of the Somerset Mine that overlie the Sanborn Creek Mine. Rather, there is more than 200 horizontal feet of unmined B-seam coal separating and isolating the Somerset Mine workings from the Sanborn Creek mine workings. OMLLC believes that should wells H-10 and B-6 continue to remain dry, the data supports the conclusion that the Somerset mine will continue to have a negligible affect on the hydrologic balance of the region. BC-1 Well -Lower Bear Creek Canyon - Alluvium/Colluvium The BC-1 Well is located in the shallow alluvium/colluvium near the entrance to Bear Creek canyon in the vicinity of the railroad tressel. The purpose of the well is to monitor possible groundwater changes down gradient from the Elk Creek mine D seam mining activities in the • Bear Creek drainage area. In addition, it is important to note that the BC-1 well is also located down-gradient from the old Somerset Mine workings as well. Groundwater in this ephemeral drainage appears closely linked to the variable surface water flow found nearby in Bear Creek. Soon after Bear Creek goes dry, typically, so does the BC-1 well. During 2003 while Bear Creek had minimal flows, there was just enough water in the well for samples. The data suggests no anomalies. EC-7, EC-14, EC-15 Wells -Elk Creek -Alluvium/colluvium The EC-7 well is located down gradient of the EC-14 well and up gadient of the EC-15 well. Both the EC- 7 and EC-14 wells are up-gradient from the Elk Creek mine surface facility but down-gradient from the eventual D seam mining area located in the upper reaches of Elk Creek. Changes in the hydrologic condition of shallow Elk Creek alluvial groundwater due to mining activities could potentially be monitored from these three wells. During 2003, due to prevailing drought conditions, water levels in these wells were very variable. EC-7 may have developed a constriction at the 6 to 8 foot depth. EC-14 had enough water to sample, but samples were muddy. The EC-15 June 19, 2003 sample was quite turbid with mud when obtained. EC-15 had barely enough water to indicate a water level but no • sample was available in the fall. SC-1 Well-Rollins Sandstone Monitor well SC-1 is located just east of the Sanborn Creek mine portal area. 11