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Doc Date:12/11/2001 III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />sss <br />RULE 2 - PERMITS <br />0 <br />2.04 - MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL <br />RESOURCES <br />2.04.2 - Responsibilities <br />Information on environmental resources within the mine permit and adjacent areas, as required by <br />Rule 2.04, has been collected by OMI and previous owners and is presented in this permit section and <br />the supporting maps and exhibits, as referenced. Information on environmental resources has been <br />collected by mine personnel and qualified consultants from various sources including research of <br />available published reports and documents; contacts with Federal, State, and local agencies; site- <br />specific investigations; and ongoing monitoring activities. <br />2.04.3 - Site Description and Land Use Information <br />This section of the permit application describes previous and existing land uses within the mine <br />permit area and for adjacent areas as a basis for evaluation of mining-related impacts and <br />development of appropriate reclamation and restoration plans. Most of the information presented in <br />this section is based on historical records and information from local land use planning agencies, <br />specifically the Bureau of Land Management - Uncompahgre Basin Resource Area; U.S. Forest <br />Service - Paonia Ranger District; and the Gunnison and Delta County Planning Departments and <br />Clerk's Offices. <br />• Site Description <br />The mine permit area encompasses a small area of valley bottom on the north side of the North Fork <br />of the Gunnison River and the steep mountain slopes and associated drainages to the north. <br />Elevations in the immediate vicinity range from approximately 6,000 feet above mean sea level (amsl) <br />in the valley bottom to 8,500 feet amsl on the upper ridgelines and mountain tops. The area is semi- <br />arid with annual precipitation of approximately 17 inches, soils are generally poorly developed and <br />relatively shallow except in the drainage bottoms and valleys, and vegetation is dominantly mountain <br />brush and juniper woodland. State Highway 133 parallels the river on the north side and the small <br />Town of Somerset is immediately adjacent to the southern mine permit boundary and south of the <br />main Elk Creek Facilities area. <br />Pre-Disturbance Condition and Use <br />Mining in the immediate area began just prior to the tum-of-the-century. There is no record of prior <br />developed use, so it is reasonable to assume that pre-disturbance condition and use was similar to the <br />surrounding undeveloped areas, consisting of very limited grazing use in the upper park areas and <br />dispersed wildlife habitat on mountain slope, drainage, and valley areas. <br />Historic Land Uses <br />The first known historical development in the present mine permit or adjacent areas was small-scale <br />extraction of coal by several local ranchers for home heating use from a wagon mine portal at the E- <br />Seam coal outcrop. This small wagon mine was developed in leased Federal coal reserves with the <br />portal located in the NW'/., SWi/4, Section 12, T13S, R90W and continued small-scale operations until <br />it was purchased in 1922. Generally, historic mine development to date within the current perrnit area <br />has involved two basic operations; the Hawk's Nest Mine in the D and E coal seams, which <br />incorporated the original wagon mine, the Black Beauty Mine, and the Oliver Mine; and the <br />Somerset/Sanbom Creek Mine complex in the B and C coal seams. The history of these two <br />operations is outlined in the following sections: <br />PR04 2.04-1 Revised August 2000