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. Surface Water <br />Surface water entering the permit area is either diverted around and away from disturbed areas, <br />or is passed into the sediment control system where it ultimately discharges from a sediment <br />pond designed and constructed in accordance with CDRMS requirements or evaporates from the <br />site. There are no longer any open pits, therefore there is no ponding of water on the coal seam, <br />which could potentially lead to acidification of surface water. Surface water is directed to the <br />surface water drainage system, ultimately leading to the sediment ponds. The permanently <br />reclaimed spoils area has a designed underdrain system which controls drainage, and passes any <br />water reaching the underdrain to the sediment pond below. <br />Acidic drainage was observed from a spring in the vicinity of the South Pit in the late 1990's. <br />This spring was a natural spring which emanated from strata unaffected by coal mining. This <br />surface drainage was mitigated in two ways; first, the drainage is controlled by the sediment <br />control system, and is not able to leave the site untreated, second, the natural conditions of the <br />earth materials within the ditch neutralize the acidic natural of the surface water within several <br />yards of the appearance of the surface water. <br />While the above addresses mitigation of impacts to surface water quality, surface water quantity <br />is likewise protected by the mining and reclamation plan at the Carbon Junction Mine. Surface <br />water quantity is not reduced significantly by the operation, as the sediment control system <br />functions to slow and treat surface water, not to impound it for significant periods of time. <br />Quantitative data taken from springs and discharge monitoring reports over the operational life <br />of the Carbon Junction Mine verify that there has been no significant impact to the quantity or <br />quality of surface water within or adjacent to the Carbon Junction Mine. <br />Ground Water <br />Ground water impacts are discussed throughout this section. The mining and reclamation plan <br />has been designed to minimize or alleviate impacts to the quantity and quality of groundwater at <br />and adjacent to the Carbon Junction Mine. The characteristics and stratigraphy of the coal seam <br />and overburden prevent discharges of ground water in the areas of potential impact. Further, <br />based on well monitoring up gradient, mid -mine and down gradient, no significant impacts to <br />groundwater quantity or quality have been identified or substantiated during the operational life <br />of the Carbon Junction Mine. <br />Probable Hydrologic Consequences <br />During the re- permitting of the mine in 1993, it was concluded that impacts to the hydrologic <br />balance would be minimal due to the mitigative measures the company planned. The only <br />significant change to the existing conditions at the mine since that finding has been the mining of <br />sand and gravel under a permit issued by the Division under the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Act (CRS 34 -32 -101 et seq). The subsequent mining of sand and gravel at the site <br />has increased the acreage of surface disturbance by approximately 33 acres. This acreage is less <br />Abridged Permit Document 5 -36 Feb 2008 <br />