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<br />Expansion of the Southfield permit area as proposed by this permit <br />revision application will encompass a portion of headwaters areas for <br />Second Alkali Creek which is tributary to First Alkali Creek and <br />subsequently Coal Creek. The subject headwaters area will not be effected <br />by any surface disturbance. In addition, mining and related activities <br />will not intercept or result in any discharge to the Second Alkali Creek <br />drainage. Consequently there is essentially no potential for mining <br />related impacts on water rights in the Second Alkali Creek or downstream <br />drainages. <br />Operations at the Southfield loadout have limited potential to effect <br />surface water quality or quantity in adjacent and downstream portions of <br />the Oak and Chandler Creek drainages. A significant portion of the total <br />flow volume in Oak Creek is diverted upstream from the loadout by the town <br />of Rockvale for domestic use and by various agricultural users for <br />irrigation. Both Oak and Chandler Creek flow into the Arkansas River <br />• within less than one (1) mile from the loadout site. There are no surface <br />water rights within this downstream interval which might be impacted. <br />In conjunction with loadout operations, EFCI collects and retains all <br />disturbed area runoff for sediment control. After an appropriate <br />retention time in order to allow settlement of suspended solids, this <br />water is released into natural drainages. The loadout area, with a total <br />disturbance of approximately 25 acres, is relatively small in comparison <br />with the watersheds of both Chandler and Oak Creeks. Consequently, the <br />quantities of water potentially retained in sedimentation ponds at any one <br />time are negligible relative to flow volumes in Oak and Chandler Creeks. <br />With the relatively low permeability of most of the upper stratigraphic <br />units in the Southfield mine, loadout, and adjacent areas, use of <br />groundwater in these areas is generally limited to relatively shallow <br />wells, completed in abandoned underground mine workings which form small <br />perch groundwater reservoirs. A detailed discussion of groundwater <br />• resources is presented in Section 2.04.7, Hydrology Description. <br />2.05.6-27 <br />