2008-02-19_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981047

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I. Diischarge of Water into an Underground Mine There will not be any discharge of water into an underground mine (4.05.16). Stream Buffer Zones The Division proposes to approve surface or underground mining activities within 100 feet of Hubbard Creek which is a perennial stream with a biological community. This decision is based on a finding that the original stream channel will be restored, water quality and quantity shall not be adversely affected, and appropriate riparian vegetation will be reestablished. The buffer zone variance is granted for Ditch A, Pond No. 5, the light-use road, Pond No. 3, which was transfen•ed to Oxbow Mining's Elk Creek Mine, Pond No. 4, and portions of the reclaimed haul road (4.05.18(1)). K. Probable Hydrologic Consequences Under Rule 2.07.6(2)(c), the Division is required to make an assessment of the probable cumulative impacts of all anticipated coal mining in the general area on the hydrologic balance and to make a finding (as discussed in Section A of this document) that the operations proposed in the permit application have been designed to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance outside ofthe proposed permit area. This section ofthe findings document is divided into the following subsections: Description of the Hydrologic Environment; Probable Hydrologic Consequences of the Blue Ribbon Mine; and Summary and Findings. A separate Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Study (CRIB) is available for review at the Division of Minerals and Geology. The CHIS filed at the Division, assesses the projected cumulative hydrologic impacts of all anticipated mining operations in the general area of the Blue Ribbon Mine on the North Fork of the Gunnison River Valley. Description of the Hydrologic Environment a. Regional Geology The Blue Ribbon Mine lies on the southwestern margin of the Piceance Basin, a part of the Colorado Plateau province. The steep slopes of the stream valleys and the instability of the rock strata in the North Fork of the Gunnison Drainage Basin has contributed to numerous landslides, mud flows and rock falls. These mass wasting features have been mapped by W. R. Junge of the Colorado Geological Survey and published as an open file report, entitled "Geological Hazards, North Fork Gunnison River Valley, Delta and Gunnison Counties, Colorado." The Blue Ribbon Mine extracted coal from the E seam ofthe Upper Coal Member of the Mesaverde Formation. The Upper Coal Member ranges from 400 to 600 feet thick in the Somerset Coal Field, also known as the North Fork-Minnesota Creek or Paonia 16