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The Collom Lite Pit covers an area of two long ridge lines at about 7,900 feet in elevation, which <br />is bisected by a 100 to 200 feet deep valley formed by the stream channel of Little Collom <br />Gulch. The Collom Lite Pit will cover 880 acres and will be 600 feet deep in places. <br />Coal seams to be mined in the Collom Lite Pit include the Y, X, A, B, C, E, F, and G. Coal <br />production from the Collom Lite Pit will build from about 1 2 million tons in 2012 up to about <br />5.1 million tons in 2016 and will remain fairly constant thereafter. A total <br />overburden/interburden volume of 498,381,818 bank cubic yards (bcy) and coal tonnage of <br />79,100,000 tons estimated to the generated and produced, respectively, from the Collom Lite <br />Pit. Overall strip ratio for the Collom Lite Pit is approximately 7 bcy per ton. <br />The Little Collom X Pit is located approximately one and one -half mile north and 600 feet lower <br />in elevation relative to the Collom Lite Pit Similar to the Collom Lite Pit area, the area to the <br />mined within the Little Collom X Pit covers an area of two long ridge lines about 7,000 feet in <br />elevation, which is bisected by a 100 foot deep valley formed by the stream channel of Little <br />Collom Gulch. The Little Collom X Pit will cover approximately 213 acres and will be 100 feet <br />deep in places. <br />Coal seams to be mined in the Little Collom X Pit include the Y and X seams; these coal seams <br />will be mined in a southward direction into the hillside along the bedding plane beneath the X <br />coal seam. Coal production from the Little Collom X Pit will take place in 2012 and continue <br />through 2015. A total overburden/interburden volume of 43,636,000 bcy and coal tonnage of <br />2,552,000 tons estimated to be generated and produced, respectively, from the Little Collom X <br />Pit. <br />As part of the permit application, Colowyo Coal Company provided a water balance for the <br />proposed action based on an estimated production rate ranging from 3.7 tons /year in 2012 up to <br />about 7.6 tons /year through 2015. Accounting for noncontributory mine inflow, surface dust <br />controls, and evaporative losses from drainage controls, Colowyo Coal Company estimates that <br />its average water depletions for the proposed action will be 36 acre -feet per year. <br />Description of Permit Area <br />The proposed Collom expansion area occupies the south - central headwaters of the synclinal <br />Axial basin (along the Danforth Hills) and generally drains to the northeast, eventually into the <br />Yampa River, which is a tributary to the Green then Colorado Rivers. Elevations in this area <br />range from just below 6,400 feet + /- above mean sea level to approximately 8,567 feet. Typical <br />stream gradient in the headwaters range from 3 to 5 percent, but occasionally exhibit steeper <br />reaches, and 1 to 3 percent along the colluvial floodplains lower in the watershed. Adjacent <br />upland drainage side slopes range from moderately steep to steep ( >35 %) whereas the "benches" <br />between drainages generally exhibit flatter slopes with a northeasterly aspect between 1 and 5 <br />percent. <br />The predominant land use type identified in the Collom permit expansion area is jointly <br />Rangeland/Fish and Wildlife Habitat. A minimal area outside of the proposed disturbance <br />boundaries has been characterized as pastureland. Colowyo is focused on re- establishment of the <br />Page 4 <br />