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overburden is excavated using dozers and a shovel and trucks and then placed or pushed into an <br /> adjacent or nearby mined-out pit panels, with the exception of the initial cut, which was placed <br /> adjacent to the pit onto land designated as a temporary overburden stockpile (see Map 2.05.3-1). <br /> During overburden removal operations, some selective handling of material'will be performed based <br /> on chemical and physical core data contained in Section 2.04.6,Geology Description,and discussions <br /> presented in Section 2.05.4(2)(d),Topsoil (Redistribution) of the permit application. <br /> Following recovery of the lower Dakota coal seam, the pit will be backfilled to approximate original <br /> contour. Overburden testing is being done to ensure that acid or toxic forming overburden is not <br /> placed within four feet of the surface and areas retreated as necessary. Topsoil will then be replaced <br /> in approximate thicknesses of 1.0 feet on dryland pastures and 1.5 feet on irrigated pastures, <br /> dependent upon the actual amount of topsoil recovered. The areas will then be seeded and irrigated <br /> for pasture establishment. <br /> Operations on Prime Farmland <br /> Originally,when Peabody Coal operated the Nucla Mine, they had identified approximately 15 acres <br /> in the southeast portion of the New Horizon Mine 2 permit area as prime farmland. After an <br /> extensive review by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Western Fuels-Colorado, <br /> and the Division, a determination was made that the area classified as prime farmland was in error. <br /> The area has now been reclassified as irrigated cropland, however, the land itself was reclaimed to <br /> prime farmland standards as far as topsoil handling and depths are concerned. <br /> Water Rights and Usage <br /> S The water rights, usage and augmentation plan is presented in Section 2.05.6(3) of the permit <br /> application. There are 11 surface water rights which have the potential of being impacted by Western <br /> Fuels operations at New Horizon Mine 2. These are upgradient of Sediment Pond 007 at the site. <br /> There are 29 water wells adjacent to the mine sites. Of these,just two, W-009 and D-041 on Figure <br /> P2 of Tab 16, could be impacted by future mining activities at the New Horizon Mine 2 site. These <br /> eJ two wells are 150 feet or less deep and derive their water from near surface aquifers. At the end of <br /> five years of operation, Western Fuels estimated that drawdown might be one foot within a 0.7 mile <br /> radius of the center of the New Horizon Mine 2 pit. Western Fuels proposes, with owner consent, <br /> to monitor these wells to detect any changes in their hydrologic conditions. <br /> Western Fuels-Colorado will use the following alternative water sources to mitigate any ground or <br /> surface water right impacts. Western Fuels has available 114.5 acre-feet of surface water, which is <br /> a consumptive use credit associated with Western Fuels' ownership of 27 shares of the Colorado <br /> Cooperative Company (CCC). Western Fuels has an absolute 4 acre-foot storage right for the 001 <br /> reservoir at the New Horizon Mine 1 area and is projected to have 18 acre-feet of pit pumpage during <br /> the non-irrigation season available to them for use. Western Fuels also has a 1.5 acre-foot ground <br /> water right associated with the mined-out shop well. <br /> 10 <br />