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Western Fuels -Utah, Inc., (former operator) on July 27, 1981. Facilities construction <br />and underground development were initiated shortly thereafter. <br />Mining operations during previous permit terms have utilized longwall extraction and <br />room and pillar techniques to extract coal from the "D" Seam. "D" Seam mining within <br />the permit area was completed in 1999. Operations shifted to the underlying "B" Seam, <br />with development mining in 1998/1999 and initiation of longwall extraction in early 2000. <br />Mining operations and schedules were substantially altered by a mine fire in Longwall <br />Panel 9, in the northeast portion of the permit area in January 1996. The entire "D" <br />seam longwall mining district in the northern portion of the permit area was eventually <br />sealed off and the longwall equipment was not recovered. <br />The Deserado Permit was previously renewed in June 2009 with Permit Renewal No. 5. <br />Operational status was most recently reviewed and summarized by the Division in <br />Permit Revision No. 7, Dated 29 June 2011. Status of revisions approved and <br />stipulations issued subsequent to RN -05 approval is summarized in that document. <br />Status of revisions approved and all stipulations is summarized below. <br />Elevations at the mine site range between 5,300 and 5,900 feet above sea level. The <br />permit area and adjacent areas are characterized by gently rolling to moderately steep <br />landforms. Slopes range from 0 to 6 percent in the valleys and level uplands and up to <br />50 percent on drainage sideslopes. The area is semi -arid and characterized by light <br />rainfall, low relative humidity, and moderate winds. Mean annual precipitation is 9 to 10 <br />inches, with peaks in spring and late summer /early fall. <br />The mine is located in the White River Basin, which is the eastern portion of the larger <br />Uinta Basin. The mine lies within the interbedded sandstone and siltstone strata of the <br />Mesaverde Group in the Williams Fork Formation. The Mesaverde Group consists of <br />the Lower Iles Formation and the Upper Williams Fork Formation, which are separated <br />by the Trout Creek Sandstone. The Williams Fork Formation is further divided into <br />upper and lower members. The Lower Williams Fork Member contains coal bearing <br />seams "A" through "H." The "B" and "D" seams will be recovered at the Deserado Mine. <br />The dip of the Mesaverde Group within the permit area is controlled by the asymmetric <br />Red Wash Syncline, which strikes northwest to southeast. Dips vary from 7 degrees in <br />the southern part of the permit area, horizontal at the synclinal axis, to as much as 70 <br />degrees on the north flank of the syncline. The coal and sandstone beds outcrop along <br />this steep northern flank. Structure and local topography are the main factors that <br />control ground water movement in the area. <br />The Williams Fork Formation is divided into three hydrologic units: The Sandstone <br />Facies, which underlies the "A" coal seam and is generally equivalent to the Trout <br />Creek Sandstone and the upper portion of the Iles Formation; the Siltstone and Coal <br />Facies, which consists of the interbedded coal, siltstone, and shale strata of the Lower <br />Williams Fork Formation; and the upper Sandstone Facies of the Upper Williams Fork <br />