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RULE 4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS <br />dip), no ground water can be transmitted down gradient through a continuous unit, which could <br />then be monitored. <br />Valley Fill Ground Water <br />As seen on the topographic maps of the Colowyo permit area (previously submitted to the <br />DRMS), there are numerous valleys crossing the property. These valleys trend in a south to north <br />direction following the topographic slope. These valleys include (from east to west): <br />• Good Spring Creek, and its tributary, West Fork Good Spring Creek <br />• Taylor Creek <br />• Wilson Creek <br />• Jubb Creek and its tributaries, East Fork and West Fork of Jubb Creek <br />• Little Collom Gulch <br />• Collom Gulch <br />• Morgan and Straight Creek <br />All of these creeks /gulches, except for Good Spring Creek and Wilson Creek, have their <br />headwaters in the upper reaches of the topographic high that define the southern limits of the <br />Colowyo active and proposed mines. <br />These five creeks /gulches can be classed as ephemeral, i.e., there is no water flow in the upper <br />reaches of the valleys except for times of rainfall or snowmelt. Downstream, they could be <br />classified as intermittent. All are feed by springs from the bedrock. These springs are prevalent <br />in the spring and mainly disappear by late fall, thus reducing flow in the creeks and gulches to <br />near zero or no flow conditions. <br />Again, like the deeper groundwater, there is no up -dip shallow ground in these valleys that can be <br />measured for quality. Since there is no up -dip water to measure for water quality, no comparison <br />with water from the valley fill material north of the Colowyo permit area is possible. <br />The headwaters of Wilson and Good Spring Creeks are located in the upper portion of the <br />Danforth Hills, south of Colowyo. These creeks tend to be perennial with the water obtained <br />from surface runoff from precipitation and numerous springs. As with the other creeks in the <br />area, water flow tends to decrease in the late summer through winter. <br />The headwater for Good Spring Creek is near Ninemile Gap, approximately five miles south of <br />Colowyo. This creek, as it flows to and past Colowyo, is fed by numerous valleys on the east <br />side of the valley that transmit water into Good Spring Creek. Colowyo has no control of this <br />water, which flows past old coal mines and over livestock grazing areas. <br />The major tributary on the west side of Good Spring Creek is the West Fork. This drainage starts <br />near the Wilson Uplift (part of the Danforth Anticline) and drains to the north and east, past the <br />South Taylor mine area. As the creek flows north, it crosses the Collom syncline and crosses <br />both the Iles formation and the underlying Mancos Shale. When Good Spring Creek flows <br />through the Mancos Shale, it is passing the northern portion of the Colowyo permit area. <br />Thus, point of compliance monitoring for ground water is not possible since approximately half <br />the drainage area is outside of the control of Colowyo. In addition, since the Good Spring Creek <br />valley crosses several distinct geologic formations, water quality can be affected by this change in <br />geology, due to the fact each formation was deposited under different circumstances, which could <br />affect water quality. <br />Collom — Rule 4, Page 17 Revision Date: 1/23/09 <br />Revision No.: PR -03 <br />