2008-03-21_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1980007 (3)

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In addition to the storage reservoirs in the area of the West Elk Mine, a total of 61 stock water impoundments have been identified in or adjacent to the permit area, as of 2006. Map 37 of the permit document shows the locations of the known stock water ponds. These ponds generally do not represent adjudicated water rights or perennial flows. Within the Gunnison National Forest, the ponds are managed for seasonal use by the U.S. Forest Service. Exhibit 32B of the permit application describes wetlands and riparian areas in the permit area. There are estimated to be approximately 77 acres of wetlands (as defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) in the permit area. Most of the wetlands are found in drainage channels, although there are small, isolated wetlands on the hillsides where springs and seeps locally emerge as a result of landslides/sumps. There are an estimated 104 acres of riparian areas in the permit area. Climatological Information -Rules 2.04.8 Information regarding climate characteristics can be found in Section 2.04.3 and 2.04.8 of West Elk's permit application. The mine site lies within the North Fork valley near Somerset, Colorado. At the mine site, the valley is narrow and steep sided and follows a general east-west orientation. Considerable topographic variation across the mine site, and west central Colorado in general, results in marked fluctuation in seasonal and average precipitation and temperature values for the entire area. The mountains of the Continental Divide provide an effective barrier to the movement of moisture-laden air that reaches the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains from the Gulf of Mexico. Under this influence, two basic types of climate, semi-arid and undifferentiated highlands, are characteristic of the general area where the mine is situated. Temperatures can range below freezing in the winter, and yet in the summer, with the exception of higher elevations, can be extremely warm. The precipitation that does fall, originates from the Pacific Ocean weather systems, and most frequently occurs in the winter. Average annual precipitation ranges from approximately ten inches along the North Fork of the Gunnison River and the lower portion of Minnesota Creek to as much as 24 inches on the flanks of Mount Gunnison. The majority of precipitation falls as snow during the winter months, while the sparse summer precipitation consists of isolated thunderstorms. Soils -Rule 2.04.9 Soil Resource Information can be found in Section 2.04.9 in the permit document. More specific information relating to soil mapping units can be found in Exhibit 27, Exhibit 28, Exhibit 29, Exhibit 30, and on Maps 40 and 41. Soils of the West Elk Mine were mapped during the summer of 1976. Throughout the soil survey, "mapping units" were used to characterize the soils in the mine area. These survey mapping units are combinations of Soil Families or selected Great Groups and Subgroups 12