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Prep Plant and Industrial Building, Clean Coal Pile, DWDA #2, Pond 8 and Pond 1 - April 24, 2012 <br />Description of the Environment <br />The mine site is located in a plateau area. The elevation of the surface facilities ranges from 7,400 to <br />7,800 feet. Land use in the area consists of cropland, rangeland, pastureland, and wildlife habitat. <br />Livestock grazing and hay production on irrigated lands are the main agricultural practice conducted in <br />the general area. A variety of large and small mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles are <br />permanent or temporary residents of the area. <br />The New Elk Mine is located in the western limb of the Raton Basin. The Raton Basin is a broad, <br />asymmetric syncline whose axis trends north- south. Previous mining at this site was entirely within the <br />Allen seam, stratigraphically located in the Raton Formation (Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene). The <br />Poison Canyon Formation (Paleocene) unconformably overlies the Raton Formation. The Poison <br />Canyon Formation has a thickness of approximately 200 feet and occurs only as small, isolated outcrops <br />above an elevation of 8,000 feet. Unconsolidated Quaternary alluvial and colluvial deposits overlie the <br />Raton Formation in the low -lying areas. <br />The rock strata dip approximately two degrees to the north- northeast. The permit area contains one <br />steep, normal fault trending east - northeast with vertical displacement less than 25 feet. The Allen Seam <br />5 <br />