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species commonly grown in the Yampa Basin would be expected to benefit from <br />such shallow ground water. <br />The principal vegetation type on the Fish Creek AVF within the permit area is a <br />sagebrush meadow community dominated by silver sagebrush with a number of <br />sedge and rush species contributing significantly to the community. All of these <br />species are hydrophytes typically associated with subirrigated conditions. <br />Rule 4.24.3(1) allows for interruption of farming on "undeveloped rangelands <br />which are not significant to farming...". The Division received a letter from one <br />of the surface owners, Mr. Edward Camilletti, on January 23, 1998, regarding the <br />significance of the Fish Creek AVF to farming in sections 10 and 15, T5N, R86W. <br />The Camellettis use these lands as undeveloped rangeland. The landowner <br />estimated that I% of the ranch production is attributed to the Fish Creek AVF. <br />Twentymile Coal Company owns a significant portion of the lands in and adjacent <br />to the Fish Creek AVF. Twentymile Coal Company operates a cattle operation on <br />these lands and manages the land, through its ranch manager, Trout Creek Ranch, <br />as undeveloped rangeland. TCC does not utilize the Fish Creek AVF as cropland. <br />TCC projects that impacts to the Fish Creek AVF will not significantly impact the <br />cattle operation. <br />Technical Revision No. 14 (TR14) approved the undermining and subsidence of a <br />small portion of Fish Creek due to longwall extraction in panels 5, 6 and 7 in the <br />Southwest Mining District. No farming activities are currently undertaken along <br />Fish Creek in this area. Subsidence did not preclude the farming of this area. <br />The Fish Creek AVF was the only AVF approved to be undermined as a result of <br />Permit Revision No. 6 (PR6). No stream pirating or loss of flow was experienced <br />during the mining approved by PR6. <br />2. The proposed mining operations would not cause material damage to the quantity <br />and quality of surface and ground water that supply the alluvial valley floor. <br />The only significant degradation of the stream water from TCC's mining <br />operations has been caused by pumping of underground mine water into Fish <br />Creek and Foidel Creek. Data in TCC's annual hydrology reports document this <br />degradation. Pumping occurs at two sites 115 (Fish Creek borehole) and 109 <br />(portal area). The pumping loads the streams with dissolved solids, mainly sulfate. <br />The operator has maintained stream water quality below the material damage <br />threshold by limiting the pumping rates at both sites and treating the pumped water <br />at one of the sites, 115. The operator proposes no change in PR8. The operator <br />will continue to limit pumping rates and treating water as in the past; therefore, <br />mine pumping can be expected to not cause material damage to the quality of <br />surface or alluvial water. <br />Foidel Creek Mine 40 June 4, 2010