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1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />New Elk Coal Company (NECC) owns and operates the New Elk underground coal mine and <br />preparation plant in southern Colorado. This report presents the hydrologic monitoring <br />activities conducted at the mine during 2008 and analysis of trends over a twenty four year <br />monitoring .period. The remainder of this section describes the mine site area and the current <br />hydrologic monitoring program. Section 2.0 describes the monitoring methods used for the <br />program while Section 3.0 provides the monitoring data for 2008. Also included in this report <br />is a discussion of mitigative measures undertaken to minimize disturbance to area hydrologic <br />functions (Section 4.0) and plans for future hydrologic monitoring activities (Section 5.0). <br />Data and information related to this assessment are presented as Appendices of this report. <br />1.1 SITE DESCRIPTION <br />The New Elk east portal area is located three miles east of Stonewall and seven miles west of <br />Weston in T33S, R68W in Las Animas County, Colorado. The mine is situated in mountainous <br />terrain with numerous canyons contributing runoff to the drainages of ephemeral, intermittent, <br />and perennial streams of the area (see Map 8, Regional Hydrology in the Permit Document). <br />The New Elk mine is located on the Middle Fork of the Purgatoire River, about 1.5 miles <br />upstream of the confluence of the North Fork. Most surface facilities of the mine are adjacent, <br />and underground mining occurred under and to the north and south of, the Purgatoire River, in <br />an area known as the Picketwire Valley. Underground activities at the New Elk mine have <br />ceased, and the mine was sealed in 1989. Surface facilities and coal processing activities are <br />the most visible indicators of coal mining activity in the area. <br />The Purgatoire River is the primary stream drainage in the area of the mine. The headwaters of <br />the Purgatoire are located on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range west of <br />the mine area. The general direction of stream flow is easterly to the confluence with the <br />Arkansas River, also in Las Animas County. The principal tributary of the Purgatoire River <br />which drains in the vicinity of the mine permit area is Apache Canyon. Apache Canyon drains <br />a watershed of approximately 7,264 acres. Cover in the canyon is ,primarily woodland with an <br />herbaceous valley bottom. Primary land use is grazing and wildlife habitat. Surface mine <br />features within the Apache Canyon (on the left fork) include two ventilation shafts for the now <br />inactive New Elk mine. These shafts have been transferred to the Golden Eagle mine _permit <br />and the Golden Eagle mine assumed the reclamation liability for the facilities. Portions of <br />Apache Canyon have been under mined (by room and pillar mining). Apache Canyon <br />discharges into the Purgatoire River above the Golden Eagle mine reclaimed area. Apache <br />Canyon was determined not to meet alluvial valley floor criteria. <br />The geologic setting is an important factor when analyzing hydrology of an area. Stratigraphy <br />in the region of the mine ranges in age from Pre-Cambrian to Quaternary. However, only <br />portions of the Raton Formation (see Figure 1.1-1) and recent alluvial deposits are exposed in <br />the area of the mine. Most of the formation consists of very fine to medium grained sandstone <br />interbedded with siltstone and shale. Coal that was mined at the New Elk is located near the <br />middle of the Raton Formation. The outcrop of the formation in <br />0