2010-05-14_PERMIT FILE - X201023200 (2)

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and production. The equipment to be used includes two truck mounted rotary drills, on truck to haul pipe, two water truck, one backhoe, one bull dozer, a road maintainer, and a logging truck. 4 wheel drive pickups will be used on a daily basis to access the sites. Construction activities will be minimized. Existing roads will be used wherever possible. Any road spurs required will be constructed in such a manner as to minimize erosion and disturbance to the land surface using a dozer and/or track mounted excavator. The removal of trees will be avoided where possible. Brush will be pushed to slash piles in an orderly fashion adjacent to the access roads and drill site. The brush will be disposed of in accordance to the agreement with the landowners. The amount of surface disturbance necessary will depend on the drill site. The amount of disturbance at each drill site will be kept to a minimum. A pit for the collection of drill cuttings and fluids will be excavated with a backhoe at each location. The pit will be approximately 8 ft by 40 ft by 6 ft deep. The pit will be pumped on a regular basis and all fluids transported to a disposal site at the New Elk Mine. The pit will be backfilled upon completion of the drilling activity. Present plans call for one pit per drill site. Drill hole depth and estimated acreage of disturbance for road and site construction is included in table 1. Drilling activities will include rotary and core drilling. Hole diameter will be 4 inches while rotary drilling and a 3 inch diameter core when coring. Drilling fluids include air and water with a mist foaming agent and drilling mud if necessary. All chemicals used will be biodegradable so as not to adversely impact the surrounding area or any groundwater which may be encountered. Topsoil will be salvaged from the drill sites prior to their construction. Salvaging will include removing the top 12 inches of soil or the amount available and stockpiling this material in the general vicinity of its removal in an area where it will not be removed from the frill site area. Stockpiles of topsoil will be compacted to prevent erosion by wind and other elements until used for reclamation. Newly constructed roads will be ripped, graded and reclaimed. Approximately 2,434 ft of road will be necessary. The roads will be approximately 14 ft wide. The irregular terrain precludes making an accurate estimate of the amount of material to be disturbed. Each pad is estimated to disturb 3600 sf. Table 1. Drill hole estimated disturbance area. Hole No. Estimated Site Area (SO Estimate New Road (ft) Estimated Site (Acres) Estimated New Road (Acres) Estimated Total Disturbance (Acres) NE-01-10 3600 1400 0.083 0.450 0.533 NE-02-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-03-10 3600 1348 0.083 0.433 0.513 NE-04-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-05-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-06-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-07-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-08-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-09-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-10-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-11-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NE-12-10 3600 0.083 0.083 NECC NOI Attachment 5_10_10