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1 <br />' 1.1 Introduction <br />' Oxbow Mining, Inc., operates the Sanborn Creek Mine. The Sanborn Creek Mine <br />' surface facilities are located immediately north of the Town of Somerset. The Sanborn Creek <br />Mine portals are located about one mile east of Somerset, Colorado near State Highway 133. <br />Coal from the Sanborn Creek Mine is conveyed to the surface facilities where, along with coal <br />' from other mines in the area, is loaded onto rail cars for shipment. <br />The Sanborn Creek Mine and surface facilities are located within the North Fork of the <br />' Gumrison River drainage, which is a tributary to the Colorado River. The North Fork drainage <br />ranges in altitude from 5,550 feet to 12,000 feet and drains 1,253 square miles, producing an <br />average discharge of some 470,000 acre feet of water or an average discharge of about 650 cubic <br />' feet per second (Department of Agriculture 1962). The average annual discharge of the North <br />Fork of the Gunnison River at the U.S. Geological Survey gauging station 2.3 miles east of <br />Somerset is 313,300 acre feet of water, or an average dischazge of 457 cubic feet per second. <br />' Peak flows generally occur in May as a result of snowmelt with minimum flows during the <br />winter months. <br />' Surface drainage from the permit area runs directly to the North Fork of the Gunnison <br />River. One perennial, three intermittent, and eight creeks and gulches drain the permit area. <br />From west to east, the creeks shown on drawing E8-3286 are known as: <br />' Hubbard Creek Perennial <br />Bear Creek Intermittent <br />' Elk Creek Intermittent <br />Sanborn Creek Intermittent <br />Unnamed Drainage Ephemeral <br />' Coal Gulch Ephemeral <br />A-Gulch Ephemeral <br />B-Gulch Ephemeral <br />C-Gulch Ephemeral <br />Hawksnest Creek Ephemeral <br />' Hoopla Gulch Ephemeral <br />Bardine Canyon Ephemeral <br />Thompson Creek Intermittent <br />1 <br /> <br />