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• Bowie Resources Limited Bowie No. 1 Mine 1997 Annual Hydrology Report • • Introduction Bowie Resources Limited acquired the Orchard Valley Mine from the Cyprus Orchard Valley Coal Corporation in December 1994. The underground coal mine, renamed the Bowie No. 1 Mine and consisting of the joined East and West mines, is located approximately two miles north of Paonia, Colorado. This mine is currently idled due to economic considerations. The Bowie No. 1 East Mine has not operated since it was sealed in June 1986, following a mine fire. The azeal extent of the East Mine workings was 1,156 acres at that time. During July 1993, rehabilitation efforts at the portal azea of the East mine were completed and the mine workings of the East and West mines were connected. Oniy the first fifteen crosscuts of the East mine were reopened. The rest of the mine remains sealed and inactive. The existing coal processing support facilities at the East mine were reactivated during 1993. The support facility at the West mine remains and, during periods of operation, is used for supplies and Gght maintenance activity. Coal is transported from the West mine through the East portals. The West mine was opened in January 1987. The azeal extent of the West mine at the end of 1997 was approximately 764 acres. The combined acreage ofthe East and West mines is approximately 1,800 acres. The coal mined from both the East and West mine is in the "D" seam of the Mesaverde Coal Member, with proposed mining concentrated in three azeas of thick coal or "pods" refereed to as the East, Central and Westem thick coal pods. Access to the East pod was cut off by the 1986 mine fire, but new projections may offer a new access through a ....more cuout'loos rouCe-T997=mimngwri-}imbed to the Western thick coal pod and the thinner seams located between the Central and Westem thick coal pods. Hydrologic monitoring began at the mine in 1983. This report presents monitoring results from the 1997 monitoring season. Discussion is presented by each monitoring category identified in Table 1 - Summary of Hydrologic Monitoring Stations -Required Monitoring for Annual Hydrology Report. Table 1 immediately follows this narrative and precedes the 1997 data summaries provided for each station. Maps depicting the locations of aU Hydrologic monitoring stations are appended to this report. Water quality monitoring includes field pazameters (Table 2 -Field Parameters), water quality parameters (Table 3 -Lab Parameters), and NPDES parameters (Table 4 - NPDES Pazameters). Ponds were sampled for water quality when discharging or outflows were occurring. Ponds in the permit azea aze typically spring-fed or seep-fed and exlu'bit diffuse non-concentrated azeas of inflow. Often, the pond outlets present the only point of concentrated flow at which flow measurements and field pazameters can be obtained. Where possible, quality measurements aze obtained at the pond inlet. Stagnant water in ponds was not sampled since water quality resuhs would show the effects of evaporation and stock use and therefore are not used to evaluate the potential mine impacts. Pege 1 of7