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<br />INTRODUCTION <br />Kaiser Steel Corporation implemented a surface and ground water <br />monitoring program at the Colorado Coal Mine #1, located one mile north of <br />Walsenburg, Colorado, in April 1984. The program consists of five surface water <br />stations and 46 ground water wells. The purpose of gathering this information was <br />to satisfy the requirements of stipulations 1 and 4 of the permit and also to provide <br />adequate hydrologic data for input into future mine expansion, water rights <br />mitigation and potential impact analysis of mining on the hydrologic balance. <br />Currently, no mining operations exist on the property. The most recent <br />activities consisted of a test pit opened in the northern portion of the permit <br />boundary in 1981. The purpose was to examine coal quality and mining conditions. <br />Historic underground mining operations existed in the early 1900's on the southern <br />portion of the property. Much of the current monitoring program was aimed at <br />• defining hydrologic conditions of these historic workings. <br />ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING <br />The region has a great variety of topographic features. To the west and <br />north, high peaks rise above the study area. There are three prominent ranges, <br />Culebra Range, Sangre de Cristo Range and the Wet Mountain Range located to the <br />southwest, northwest and north of the area, respectively. To the east, is an area of <br />shale plains that has low relief and smooth grassy slopes. The Cucharas Canyon, <br />located several miles to the south of the study area, cuts deeply into the bedrock <br />formations, and represents the best-known topographic feature in this part of the <br />country. <br />In the study area, topography consists of gently rolling grasslands to <br />moderately rugged, partially timbered slopes. The grasslands are underlain by the <br />easily eroded lower coal, shale and sandstone sequence of the Vermejo Formation. <br />• -1- <br />