Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
Langman et al. (2012) provide considerable information on the springs of the Upper San Mateo
Creek basin. Among the findings of this report are to identify geologic conditions which isolate
the springs and seeps from deep formations such as the Westwater.
Four springs have been identified within the Upper San Mateo Creek subwatershed within 2 miles
of the permit area (table 8), although no springs are present within the permit area. NMEI (1974)
provided information on Bridge Spring, which discharges from the Point Lookout Sandstone near
its contact with the Menefee, and North Bridge Spring and South Bridge Spring, which discharge
from the Menefee Formation. In 2009, RHR field investigators walked the central channel of San
Mateo Creek along the reach into which these springs discharged. They located Bridge Spring
and also another spring at the point where NM 605 crosses San Mateo Creek in the south central
part of Section 21, T13N R8W (informally referred to as “605 spring”). South Bridge Spring and
North Bridge Spring are off-channel springs that were not observed during the RHR investigation
of the channel. Bridge Spring is the closest spring to the RHR permit area.
Table 8 is a summary of the water chemistry data from the five of the springs within 5 miles of
the permit area, two associated with the high elevation volcanics and three low elevation springs
associated with the sandstones near the permit area. In addition to data from the NMEI study,
RHR sampled Bridge Spring once; it was dry on all other occasions. RHR sampled 605 Spring
twice, but the analytical results may be impacted by trash and debris present at the spring.
Table 8. Water chemistry of spring samples
Constituent Units
El Rito
Spring 1
La
Mosca
Spring
(a) 1
La
Mosca
Spring
(b) 1
Bridge
1, 2
Spring
South
Bridge
Spring 1
605 Spring 2
pH 7.35 7.75 7.55 7.92 8.15 8.86–9.22
Specific
conductance
μmhos 155 197 156 969 1,252 1,149–1,800
Temperature °C 13.2 11.0 12.5 20.2 40.3–52.9
Calcium mg/L 16.8 20.9 14.3 44.4 22.9 43
Magnesium mg/L 4.5 4.6 2.4 23.9 22 12–20
Potassium mg/L 4.1 5.0 3.2 5.0 6.9 6–8
Sodium mg/L 8.3 14.0 14.0 168.0 268.0 –
Chloride mg/L 6.0 8.0 8.0 33.0 40.0 66–160
Sulfate mg/L 6.5 6.8 4.5 17.8 19.5 183–207
Nitrogen mg/L 0.23 0.16 0.75 0.31 0.30 Not Detected
Bicarbonate mg/L 90.3 117.1 73.2 608.0 749.0 419–587
Total dissolved
solids
mg/L 213.7 267.6 208.6 940.5 940.5 882–1,170
1 2
From NMEI, 1974; From RHR Baseline Data Report, 2011
140 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest