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<br />1 <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br />SPRINGS <br />Spring Flow <br />Three springs on the mine site area are being monitored. These springs <br />are the No. 1 Strip Pit Discharge, Haxton Spring, and the North Spring. <br />The No. 1 Strip Pit Discharge is a NPDES monitoring point. There are a <br />few other springs and local permanent "damp spots" in the area; however, <br />their combined flow, is less than 10 gpm and are therefore not <br />significant. The measured discharges for the No. 1 Strip Pit are <br />presented in Figure 32 and the discharges for the other two springs are <br />presented in Table 32. All of the discharges show a normal seasonal <br />runoff period and low flows in the winter and early spring; with some <br />spring flows being so low that they become too low to measure, inpart due <br />to freezing. <br />The average discharge from the No. 1 Strip Pit was 9.1 gpm. Measurable <br />flows at the Haxton Spring was not observed in 1986. The average flow <br />from the North Spring was 7.9 gpm. Average spring flows were lower in <br />1986 than in previous years due to the lower runoff. The average <br />discharge from the No. 1 Strip Pit has steadily declined since 1982 (see <br />Figure 30). This decline appears to be independent of average runoff. <br />Water Quality <br />Summaries of the water quality data for the springs is presented in Tables <br />33 through 38. No significant changes in the natural springs water <br />quality are evident (See Figure 31). A plot of dissolved solids for the <br />No. 1 Strip Pit is presented in Figure 32. It indicates that the <br />dissolved solids level of the discharge has increased from an average of <br />approximately 900 mg/1 in 1982 and 1983 to almost 1,400 mg/1 in 1986. As <br />the dissolved solids has increased the flow rate has decreased, therefore <br />the total salt loading has not significantly changed. Also, this trend of <br />increasing dissolved solids appears to have leveled off. No other <br />significant change in water quality was observed. No violations of the <br />NPDES permit for the No. 1 Strip Pit Discharge were detected in 1986. <br />' IMPACTS AND FUTURE MONITORING <br />' No significant unpredicted adverse impacts were detected in 1986. Some <br />increase in the dissolved solids levels of the No. 5 Mine Discharge and <br />No. 1 Strip Pit Discharge were observed. However, the increase were not <br />' large enough to alter previous water quality impact prediction. In <br />addition, the discharge rate from the No. 1 Strip Pit has fallen <br />considerably below historic values. <br />' Previously, impacts to the Middle Sandstone were indicated by declining <br />water levels in the Middle Sandstone monitoring wells. Based upon the <br />' latest data, these declines appear to be the result of natural phenomenon <br />and not due to the effects of mining. Because the No. 5 Mine is not <br /> <br />5 <br />