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Wolf Creek Seam <br />The lowest coal in the Williams Fork Formation of the Mesaverde Group is the <br />Wolf Creek seam. <br />Depth to water and water quality measurements have been made at three sites in and <br />adjacent to the original permit area. Water levels in the Wolf Creek at all three sites <br />exhibit confined conditions. Dependent upon proximity to the outcrop recharge area <br />(paralleling the Sage Creek anticlinal axis), and local structure, each well has <br />varying amounts of head. Ground water flows from the recharge area to the center <br />of the basin. Therefore, the major component of flow appears to be toward the <br />west. <br />Aquifer tests were performed on the two updip wells during the summer of 1980. <br />These tests indicate that the Wolf Creek is a fairly well confined aquifer which <br />transmits limited amounts of water. One well was pumped at an average of 1.2 <br />gallons per minute for about 3 1/2 hours, and produced no observable drawdown at <br />an observation well 20 feet away. Transmissivity values calculated for the Wolf <br />Creek range from 0.02 ftZ per day (0.149 gallons per day per foot) for well 3WC, to <br />0.001 ftZ per day (0.007 gallons per day per foot) in the two wells tested. Due to <br />the low water yield and transmissivity values, the storativity value of the Wolf <br />Creek seam is estimated to be about 1 X 10 -5. These values, both transmissivity and <br />storativity, would appear to be quite low. Aquifer test data, however, does <br />substantiate these values. Due to the highly lenticular and discontinuous nature of <br />the Mesaverde Group, it is thought that transmissivity and storativity will be aerially <br />variable. <br />The quality of Wolf Creek coal water is slightly acidic, very hard and saline. Based <br />on data presented, the water type changes from calcium /sulfate to <br />sodium/bicarbonate down gradient. Well 3WC displayed the only case of elevated <br />iron levels within the Wolf Creek coal. Well 2WC located down gradient has the <br />lowest levels of TDS and sulfate, indicating that the sulfate is being precipitated <br />from the water as it moves down gradient. <br />Two wells were established to monitor water levels and quality in the seam within <br />the south extension area, down - gradient of mining areas (4WC and WWC24). <br />Water levels at 4WC are generally over a hundred feet deeper than the adjacent <br />Wadge Coal Well 4W, indicating no hydraulic communication between the two <br />units. 4WC was sampled 1983 to 1985 to establish baseline conditions, and <br />sampling was resumed in 1997 for monitoring purposes. The well displays a MgCa- <br />HCO,SO4 type water with average TDS value of 812 mg /1. Due to safety concerns <br />because of proximity to the highwall, the well was abandoned in 2003. Well <br />WWC24 was drilled in August 2001 but was damaged by landslide in the spring of <br />2003, and subsequently abandoned. A replacement well (WWC25) was drilled in the <br />Seneca II -W Findings Document 27 C- 1982 -057 <br />Permit Revision No. 6 January 6, 2012 <br />