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the general area, primarily within the Steven's Gulch, West Fork Terror Creek, and Roatcap Creek <br />drainages. These deposits are generally 20 to 30 acres in size and provide industrial (Steven's Gulch), <br />domestic (Long Draw), and agricultural (Morrell Cow Camp) water sources (page 39, Section 2.04.7 of <br />Volume 1). Several smaller occurrences of saturated alluvial/colluvial deposits are associated with the <br />streams in the permit area; however, none of these is currently supporting agricultural use. <br />The flow of water in Terror Creek and in the North Fork of the Gunnison River is strongly influenced by <br />irrigation structures along these stream courses. The Overland Ditch intercepts and distributes water from <br />the upper reaches of Terror Creek. The flow in the North Fork is controlled by Paonia Reservoir and water <br />withdrawals by several irrigation ditches - the Fire Mountain Canal, Stewart Ditch, Farmers Ditch, and <br />Paoma Ditch. In addition, there are two pipelines that will withdraw water from the Steven's Gulch Well <br />Field. The first is currently in operation and is operated by the Pitkin Mesa Pipeline Company. The <br />second pipeline carries water from the Steven's Gulch Well Field to the site of the proposed Roatcap Creek <br />portal facility. <br />There are many springs and numerous ponds within the permit and hydrologically adjacent area of the <br />Bowie No. 1 Mine. It appears that most of these springs and ponds are intermittent and depend upon <br />seasonal precipitation and long-term weather patterns. The source of most of the springs appears to be <br />related to landslide complexes, faults and fractures, areas of colluvium/ alluvium where ground water has <br />accumulated, or the discharge points at the contact of the Rollins sandstone with the lenticular sandstones <br />of the Mesaverde Formation. <br />Water Rights and Replacement - Rules 2.04.7(3) 2.05.6(3)(ii), 2.07.6(2)(c), 4.05.15 <br />Water rights and associated mitigation plans are found on pages 56-57 of Section 2.04.7 and on pages <br />94-99 of Section 2.05.6 in Volume 1. Detailed tabulations and discussions of water rights and mitigation <br />plans are documented in Volumes 5 and 5A. <br />The Bowie No. 1 Mine could potentially damage water rights in three ways. Water for use within the mine; <br />is derived from an alluvial well field in Steven's Gulch. Drawdown of this alluvium could affect flows in <br />Steven's Gulch and in the North Fork of the Gunnison. Over a hundred springs and spring-fed or <br />runoff-fed stockponds cover the permit area, and many are found in the affected area. Subsidence could <br />affect the structural integrity of these ponds or interrupt flow to springs. Lastly, mine inflows from streams <br />along fractures could diminish adjacent surface water flows. <br />During the permit renewal process of 1993, it had been noted that the Bowie No. 1 Mine was consuming <br />approximately 30,000 gpd (as proposed in their original permit application) for use at the mine. In early <br />1986, they consumed 8,700 gpd. Water consumption decreased when the mining operations were <br />temporarily halted. Now that mining and loadout operations have ceased, there is no water consumption <br />from the well field. The water supply was drawn from a well field which taps the alluvium of Steven's <br />Gulch. The applicant has obtained an approved augmentation plan through Division 4 Water Court to <br />replace water removed from Steven's Gulch. The plan uses releases from East Beckwith No. 1 Reservoir, <br />located in the Anthracite drainage, to compensate for any injury to other vested water rights or, for this <br />purpose, the North Fork alluvium. The Bowie No. 1 Mine, through an agreement with Pitkin Mesa <br />Pipeline Company, obtained additional water for mine consumption. This water was also drawn from the <br />Steven's Gulch alluvium, but under the pipeline company's water right. <br />BRL proposes to replace the water supply of any legitimate water user if impacted by the mine until such <br />time, as repairs are instituted. The application includes specific sources of water owned by Bowie <br />Resources LLC that will be called upon. A subsidence repair plan for springs, ponds, streams, and other <br />resources is included in Subsidence Volume 3. These repair plans will be modified and refined depending <br />16