Laserfiche WebLink
MEETING WITH WATER USERS -TERROR CREEK AND COAL GULCH DRAINAGE <br />October 11, 1984 <br />Page two <br />In the studies of water occurrences, two types of water have been <br />identified: surface and near-surface water from precipitation and run- <br />off, and bedrock water which is the water encountered in the mine. The <br />bedrock water is higher in salinity than the surface water and it is felt <br />that the two systems are separate. <br />There are 18,614 acres in the Terror Creek drainage basin; of that <br />amount 742 acres are in the lease area and 96 acres in the Pittsburgh and <br />Midway parcel. There are 2, 142 acres in the Coai Gulch drainage. One <br />hundred nine acres are in the long-term lease and 400 are in the Pittsburgh <br />and Midway tract. <br />In anticipation of obtaining the lease, CWI had a consulting firm in <br />Denver prepare a subsidence study. Geo-Hydro Consulting did an objective, <br />third-party study and identified two areas along Steven's Gulch and East <br />Roatcap as having less than 600 feet of overburden. US GS 1Yater Resources <br />also completed a hydrologic and subsidence report and stated that the 600 <br />feet of overburden would be a safe limit. CWI chose to add 200 feet to the <br />600 feet in creating buffer zones. Several times during the year, areas <br />previously undermined by CW1 are physically measured to determine if any <br />subsidence is occurring. <br />A1r. Estin said that Jim, when showing the hydrologic balance, showed <br />2!3 run-off and 1!3 transpired from vegetation, what about consumptive use? <br />Mr. Estin then said the implication was that the saline water is not very <br />useful; doesn't it serve the purpose of forming hydro-static pressure that <br />keeps the rest of the water from coming down? Jim said no one used the <br />bedrock water. It is {ocated in the Rollins above Garvin Mesa. Ron Stucki <br />said C5Y1 had drilled near{y 5,000 feet in 1976 and had a dry well. Mr. <br />Hughes asked what CWI does with the saline water. 1im said there was very <br />little water in the mine although some seeped through from the Farmer's <br />Mine. <br /> Matt Sakurada then talked about the water protection plans and the <br />lease stipulations which have been attached by BLM. The lease boundary <br />lines were drawn so that CWI would not mine under Terror Creek. Un the <br />west the boundaries were set up so that CWI would never mine under the <br />Stucker D:1esa Pipeline Springs or under the West Roatcap channel or stream- <br />bed. <br />If subsidence did occur and water flowed into the mine, the first <br />response would be to repair the problem area. <br />The protection plan includes: <br />1) determining the location of the lease lines; <br />• 2) provision of a buffer zone where the overburden is less than 600 <br />feet so that cracks will not develop. Only limited mining would <br />