1983-09-01_PERMIT FILE - C1981017

• Permit No: C1981017
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 9/1/1983
• Doc Name: Mining and Reclamation Plan Approval Package
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Surface Water
The Coal Basin mining operation is located on the divide that separates
the North Fork of the Gunnison watershed from the Crystal River
watershed. Drainage from the east side of Huntsman Ridge flows east into
Coal Creek to the Crystal River, then north where the Crystal River joins
the Roaring Fork River near Carbondale, approximately 17 miles north of
Coal Basin. The Roaring Fork then flows northwest to the confluence with
the Colorado River at Glenwood Springs.
The drainage on the west side of Huntsman Ridge consists of a number of
small tributaries flowing to the west and south which in turn flow into
the Clear Fork and East Muddy Creek. Both creeks flow west into the North
Fork of the Gunnison which joins the Colorado River at Grand Junction, 70
miles west of Coal Basin.
Ground Water
The Coal Basin mines extract coal from the Upper Cretaceous Mesa Verde
formation in Coal Basin, a small eroded anticline situated at the southern
end of the Piceance Basin and superimposed on a monocline called the Grand
Hogback. Two seams are mined in Coal Basin, the "B" bed and the "middle"
bed.
Ground water occurs in both bedrock and alluvial aquifiers in the vicinity
of the Coal Basin mining operation. Bedrock strata which have the
potential to be considered aquifers are the Upper Sandstone, the Middle
Sandstone, and the Rollins Sandstone. In the Coal Basin affected area,
the Upper Sandstone is approximately 50 feet thick, the Middle Sandstone
is about 120 feet thick and the Rollins Sandstone is about 140 feet
thick. All of these sandstones outcrop on the eastern wall of Coal
Basin. This is presumably where recharge to the aquifers occur. From
their outcrops, the sandstones dip to the west under Huntsman Ridge and
eventually extend deep under the Piceance Basin. There are no known users
of water in the vicinity of the mine from the three sandstone units
because of their depth (over 2,000 feet).
Alluvial Valley Floors (AVF)
Please refer to page 44 of the T.A. Mid-Continent Resources, Inc. has
identified no unconsolidated stream laid deposits within and adjacent to
the mine site permit area that meets the minimum size requirement of 50
feet wide and 10 acres in extent as set by OSM AVF guidelines. This was
verified by CMLRD. CMLRD identified an area adjacent to the load out
facility (built 1956) that meets the geomorphic criteria for an AVF. This
area is presently in agricultural use and is irrigated with some
indication that portions are subirrigated. No part of the loadout
facility is physically located on the AVF. Therefore, the proposed
operation will not affect the natural, geologic, and hydrologic
characteristics of the AVF. Also, the facility is not expected to affect
the quality and quantity of surface and ground water supplying the AVF.
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