2011-09-07_PERMIT FILE - C1981028A (5)

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proximity to the shop /office and its human activity. Daylight raptors have been seen migrating through the permit area, but are only occasionally observed perched on fence posts or power poles. E. Coors seeding plan is filed in L -4. It is hoped that this seed mix will improve both the domestic and wildlife range habitat. (See letters on pages 129 and 129a of this Section.) See also Section 2.04.11, Fish and Wildlife Resource Information. Protection of Hydrologic Balance Detailed descriptions, maps and cross - sectional drawings regarding the quality and quantity of surface and subsurface water at the Keenesburg Mine is summarized in Section 2.04.7, Hydrological Description, and at Appendix I of previous permit submittals. The focus of this permit renewal (five year plan) is on reclamation, to the exclusion of further mining operations. The previous mine pits ( "A" and `B ") have both been reclaimed to at least five feet above the ground water level, and are lined with the clay spoils to create an impervious barrier between the ground water and the ash/mine waste rock which is being deposited in those pits. The sub - surface water gradient, to the extent that it exists in the spoil, still . tends to slope to the east. Recharge of the spoil aquifer appears now to be limited to a single source, infiltration by precipitation, since the pit areas have been isolated and any standing water cannot communicate to the sub- surface water interval. There is still no indication that any significant recharge from the Ennis Draw fluvial ground water system exists. Sub- surface water elevations in the wells existing in Ennis Draw, adjacent to the Keenesburg Mine site, are significantly higher than in either spoil monitoring well, as confirmed by both Appendix I -2 of previous permit submittals and the more recent data found in the Annual Hydrology and Reclamation Reports. The lack of recharge of the spoil aquifer system by the subsurface waters in Ennis Draw is thought to be the result of limiting the eastern extent of the mining operation (not penetrating the area of Ennis Draw itself). No appreciable effect on the hydrologic balance of the area is anticipated as a result of the mining and/or reclamation operations, and water levels in the mined area are expected to eventually recover to approximately their original levels following the cessation of mining operations (McWhorter). Water quality information gathered over the past 12 years confirms this (see Appendix J -1, J -2 of the 2 nd Permit Renewal, and the Annual Hydrology and Reclamation Reports. Treatment of the sub - surface and ground water will not be necessary. Appendix M -1, Existing Surface Features Map, shows the location of any significant water diversion, collection, conveyance, storage and discharge structures (these include the perimeter ditches, the Dugout Pond and 125 11 /10 Nib