2008-11-24_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1996083

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elevations within and adjacent to the permit area support some rangeland use, and the areas offer abundant wildlife habitat. The lands also support various recreational uses. Historic and current mining operations also exist in the general area. The Bowie No. 1 Mine is located west of the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit area. The Terror Creek Loadout is located to the south of the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit area. The reclaimed Blue Ribbon Mine is also located nearby along Hubbard Creek, as are outlying facilities associated with the Sanborn Creek Mine. Historic coal mines located within and adjacent to the Bowie No. 2 permit boundary include the King Mine, the Gelwick Mine, the old Blue Ribbon Mine and the Farmers' Mine. The old townsite of Bowie is located within the Bowie No. 2 permit area. There are no known historical sites that are eligible to the National Register in the areas to be disturbed under Permit Revision No. 6. Three historic sites, not associated with important persons or events in history and not eligible to the National Register, were determined by the CHS to not have much integrity due to deterioration and alteration. As requested by the Colorado Historical Society, BRL has committed to stop construction and evaluate the situation appropriately, in consultation with the Colorado Historical Society, if previously unknown cultural resources should be discovered. Geology - Detailed information regarding the geology in and adjacent to the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit area is provided in Sections 2.04.5 and 2.04.6 of the permit application document. A brief summary is provided below, and this summary is derived from the information presented within Sections 2.04.5 and 2.04.6 of the permit application. The Bowie No. 2 Mine permit area is located in the North Fork Valley of the Gunnison River, near the western margin of the Colorado portion of the Central Rocky Mountains. The elevation of the permit area ranges from about 6,000 feet above sea level to over 8,000 feet above sea level. The general area is situated along the southern flank of the Piceance Creek structural and sedimentary basin. The area is bounded by Larimide structural and physiographic features on the following sides: West Elk and Elk Mountains on the east; the Gunnison Uplift on the south; the Uncompahgre Uplift on the west-southwest; and the Grand Mesa-Piceance Basin on the north. The geologic structure of the permit area exhibits an attitude of N66'W, with a 3 to 5-degree dip to the northeast. There is one identified fault located in the southwest corner of the permit area. The fault trends approximately N55'W and it dips 70 to 80 degrees to the northeast. The throw of the fault ranges from 7 to 30 feet, with the downside located on the south side of the fault. The coal in the area is situated within Mesaverde formation which contains interbedded sandstones, mudstones, shales, siltstones and coal beds. The Mesaverde formation lies upon the Rollins Sandstone Member of the Iles formation and below the Wasatch formation. The coal bearing member of the Mesaverde formation locally contains up to nine (9) coal seams. These seams are located within a stratigraphic interval of approximately 500 to 600 feet above the Rollins Sandstone. These coal seams are, in ascending order, the A-Seam, the B- I Seam, the B-2 Seam, the C-Seam, the D-1 Seam, the D-2 Seam, the E- I Seam, the E-2 Seam and the F-Seam. The B-2 and D-2 Seams are mineable within the permit area. The D-2 Seam overlies the Rollins Sandstone by 350 to 450 feet, and it ranges in thickness from about 8 to 16 feet. The B-2 coal seam lies between the Rollins Sandstone and the D-2 coal seam and varies in thickness from 9 to 22 feet. Once longwall mining in the D-2 coal seam was finished, and with the approval of Permit Revision No. 8, longwall mining began in the B-2 coal seam. 13