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PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />Overview and Operational History <br />The Seneca II Mine is located in northwest Colorado, approximately nine miles southeast of <br />Hayden in Routt County. The Seneca II Mine lies 7 miles east of the Seneca II -W Mine, Permit <br />No. C -82 -057, and 4 miles east of the Yoast Mine, Permit No. C -94 -082. The mining area can be <br />found on the Milner Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series Map. The mine area is located in Routt <br />County, Colorado, in lands included within: <br />TSN, R87W; All of Sections 1, 2 and 12; Portions of Sections 3, 11 and 13 <br />T6N, R87W; Portions of Sections 27, 34, 35 and 36 <br />TSN, R86W; Portions of Sections 6 and 7. <br />The Seneca II Mine is located within two adjacent drainage basins: Grassy Creek and Fish <br />Creek. Both of these are sub - basins of the upper Yampa River basin in northwestern Colorado. <br />Elevations at the mine site range from 6,600 feet to 8,100 feet above mean sea level. The <br />former Wadge mining area lies in the Fish Creek drainage, while the Wolf Creek mining area lies <br />within the Grassy Creek drainage. Both of these drainages are tributary to the upper Yampa <br />River. Surface water runoff and sediment control during mining and reclamation operations <br />consisted of the construction and maintenance of sedimentation ponds, stock ponds, and <br />postmine drainage channels. <br />Current and historic land use in the vicinity of the operation has been mining, grazing for <br />livestock, and wildlife habitat. Irrigated cropland in the area is limited to portions of the Fish <br />Creek alluvial body and to the Yampa River floodplain. Non - irrigated crops are grown on <br />sloping upland areas, as well as on alluvial flats. No cropland was disturbed by mining. <br />Mining started in 1972 and coal removal continued through August 1999. During active mining <br />operations, the coal from the Seneca II Mine was hauled over county and private roadways by a <br />private hauler to the Hayden Station Power Plant operated by Public Service of Colorado. <br />The Seneca II Mine is a surface operation that used area strip techniques and auger mining. <br />Area strip mining techniques used at the mine include vegetation removal, topsoil stripping, <br />fragmentation and removal of overburden, fragmentation and removal of coal, spoils grading, <br />topsoil replacement, and revegetation. Surface disturbance at the site included surface mining <br />pits, reclaimed auger mining areas, and mine - related structures and facilities. Mining occurred <br />in two pits, the Wadge and Wolf Creek. The Wadge pit mined the Wadge coal seam to depths <br />of 100 feet. The Wolf Creek pit recovered the Wolf Creek seam to depths of 140 feet. Three <br />auger areas were mined at the Seneca II Mine. These areas are designated as Area B, D, and E <br />and are shown on Exhibit 12 -1A of the permit application package (PAP). <br />Page 4 of 30 <br />