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Final Wes[ Elk Mine 2005 Annual Hydrology Report 7 <br />• 3.1 Surface Water Monitoring <br />n <br />LJ <br />i• <br />The West Elk Mine is drained to the north by the North Fork of the Gunnison River, to the south by <br />Minnesota Creek, to the west by Gribble Gulch, and to the east by Deep Creek. The surface water <br />monitoring system for the Project includes 22 stream stations, comprised of 10 sites with <br />continuous recording devices and 12 sites with instantaneous flow measuring devices. <br />In WY 2005 five new monitoring stations: Deer Creek, Poison Gulch, South Prong Creek <br />(temporary), and Upper and Lower Raven Gulch were added in WY 2005 in order to accommodate <br />the Project's potential future plans for the longwall mining in the South of the Divide permit area <br />and West Flatiron areas.. Additionally, the flume and continuous flow measuring device on Upper <br />Dry Fork was relocated upstream to replace the previous site flooded by a beaver dam. The data <br />logger at the Upper Deep Creek monitoring station was replaced in September 2005. <br />The monitoring sites are divided into three general hydrologic areas for discussion purposes: <br />• Stations in the Upper North Fork Drainage Basin. <br />• Stations in the Lower North Fork Drainage Basin. <br />• Stations in the Minnesota Creek Drainage Basin. <br />The locations of the monitoring stations are shown on Map 2. The following discussion of surface <br />water stations on the major drainages and tributaries to these drainages is presented from upstream <br />to downstream areas with regard to the Project. A summary of the surface water monitoring <br />program is presented in Table 2 and a discussion of WY 2005 hydrologic data is presented in <br />Section 5.1 of this report. <br />September 2006 HydroGeo, Inc. <br />