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quality standards for livestock watering. The underburden aquifer does not produce acceptable
<br />water for domestic purposes; TDS, sulfate and ammonia standards are exceeded. Measurable
<br />trace element concentrations in the underburden aquifer include aluminum, arsenic, boron,
<br />cadmium, copper, fluoride, iron, lithium, manganese, mercury, nitrate, vanadium and zinc. The
<br />highest concentrations of arsenic, mercury and copper were measured in the underburden aquifer
<br />at the New Horizon 2 mining area.
<br />Ground water within 150 feet of the ground surface has been only minimally developed for use
<br />in the Nucla area. High salinities and occasionally high sodium or sulfate concentrations
<br />preclude its use as domestic, agricultural or stock water. In addition, moderate hydraulic
<br />conductivities are coupled with low sustained well yields (less than 1.5 gpm), discouraging
<br />sustained dependence on wells completed within these aquifers.
<br />V. A1V 44U
<br />There were three major soils types in the original 220-acre New Horizon Mine 2 area:
<br />Progresso-Bond Complex, 2 to 15 percent slopes; Barx - Barx, scalped - Barx, buried complex,
<br />1 to 4 percent slopes; and Lithic-Typic Haplaquolls, 1 to 3 percent slope. The Progresso-Bond
<br />complex is comprised of 40 percent Progresso, 40 percent Bond, 10 percent Barx (see below), 5
<br />percent Travesilla, and 5 percent Bowdish series soils. The Progresso series is classified as a
<br />fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Ustollic Haplargid. The Bond series is a loamy, mixed, mesic Lithic
<br />Ustollic Haplargid. The main difference between these two is the distance to bedrock; Bond
<br />soils are shallow (17 to 19 inches to bedrock) while Progresso soils are fairly deep (36 inches to
<br />bedrock). Barx soil is found in the southeast corner, primarily within Mapping Unit D70B. It is
<br />classified as a fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Ustollic Haplargid. It is a deep, well-drained sandy
<br />loam formed in sandstone derived alluvium.
<br />The ephemeral drainages of the original Mine 2 area contained three families of Haplaquoll soils:
<br />Lithic, Lithic/Typic, and Typic Haplaquolls. The loamy, mixed, mesic, Lithic Haplaquolls are
<br />found in the upper reaches of the swales in the area and are the shallowest of the three series
<br />(bedrock at 11 inches). Lithic/Typic Haplaquolls (coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic, moderately deep
<br />Typic Haplaquolls) are found in the mid to lower reaches of the swales and exhibit good quality
<br />soil to a depth of about 24 inches. The fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, deep Typic Haplaquolls are
<br />found in the lower reaches of the swales and along Calamity Draw. These soils have sandy loam
<br />and loam textures to a depth of about four feet with sandy clay loam below that. The soils were
<br />classified as Haplaquolls because of soil wetness. However, this diagnostic factor is artificially
<br />induced because of irrigation water. The soils were formed in the alluvium of the swales. Fair to
<br />good quality topsoil exists in the swale areas in thickness from 1.2 to over 4 feet.
<br />A second soil survey was conducted in 1995 that covered approximately 106 acres located south
<br />of BB Road and immediately east of 2700 Road. The area surveyed is delineated on Map 2.04.9-
<br />1. Major soil groups encountered were Progresso-Bond Complex, 2 to 8 percent slopes (map
<br />unit 30C-A) and Progresso Sandy Loam (map unit 30C-A-1). Of the area surveyed, 100.7 acres
<br />were incorporated into the permit under Permit Revision No. 4 (PR-04).
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