2012-01-23_APPLICATION CORRESPONDENCE - C2010088 (3)

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The 39 -acre landfarm area consists of former evaporation ponds. This area received Closure Certification from CDPHE on August 25, 2005 for residential /unrestricted use (Exhibit 15). However, there are odor issues associated with this area and the surface soils appear to be sterile since they are completely devoid of vegetation. There are several areas in the northeast part of the site where coke particulate -matter was disposed in a series of excavated and unlined trenches. The material apparently originated from baghouses connected to the former boiler exhaust stacks. In 1985, it was reported that at least 10,000 cubic yards of cokefines were landfilled. The landfill appears to have a cap of native soils. No coal is proposed to be mined within the permit area and the proposed permit area has not been previously mined. Coal loadout and reclamation operations will be conducted at the site. The areas disturbed by the loadout facilities will be returned to industrial, fish and wildlife and combination rangeland and fish/wildlife habitat land use. Geoloav and Tonoaranh The proposed Fruita Loadout facility is located in the Canyon Lands Section of the Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province. The location of the site is within the Grand Valley. The Grand Valley is an extended populated valley, approximately 30 miles long and 5 miles wide, located along the Colorado River primarily in Mesa County in western Colorado. The valley is surrounded by large plateau formations, including the Bookcliffs along the north side and the Grand Mesa along the southeast side. Colorado National monument is on the southwest side of the valley west of Grand Junction. The site and surrounding areas consist of relatively level ground with an overall gradient to the southwest. The ground surface elevation averages approximately 4,470 feet above mean sea level at the site. The surface geology of the permit and adjacent area is influenced by the Mancos shale formation which is extensive in western Colorado. To the north the Mancos shale is capped by the Book Cliffs, which stand out in bold relief above the valley. The soils in the permit and adjacent area have developed in place from the Mancos shale. The following geology, hydrology, and soils descriptions are taken from the permit application package prepared by J.E. Stover & Associates, which were originally derived from the 1955 Grand Junction Soil Survey and from the 1979 Geologic Map of Colorado. The geologic formations of the Grand Junction Area are extraordinarily varied and complex. Most of the valley is influenced by the Mancos shale formation, which is extensive in western Colorado and ranges from 3,908 to 4,150 feet in thickness. To the north and northeast, the Mancos shale is capped by the Cretaceous Mount Garfield Formation and Sego Sandstone, forming the Book Cliffs. The Book Cliffs stand out in bold relief above the valley, rising in elevation from 5,500 feet at their base to a crest of 6,500 to 7,000 feet. The total relief from the crest of the cliffs to the lower base level of the Grand Valley is about 3,000 feet. 10