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t ASSESSMENT OF WATER SUPPLY IMPACTS OF PROPOSED EXPANSION j OF AGGREGATE MINING IN THE BROWN SAND QUARRY, SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA l I. BACKGROUND Brown Sand, Inc.; operators of the Brown Sand Quarry located in San Joaquin County, California, proposes to expand its existing gravel quarry located near Vernalis. The quarry has been operated for nearly ten years. The expansion of the gravel quarry is necessary to provide for continued operation of the mine which supplies high quality processed aggregate, a valuable local. resource, primarily to San Joaquin County and the neighboring Stanislaus County. Figure 1 shows the boundary of the proposed quarry located at the Interstate 5 and Interstate 580 interchange. I ' Brown Sand, Inc. is the operator of the mine; the landowner is Vernalis Partners, Ltd. � y The current ownership contains 501 acres, of which 43 acres are currently mined. In addition to ' the mining activity, current land use includes the cultivation of 337 acres of almonds which ultimately will be removed when demand for aggregate warrants, except around the periphery and Ir:J the undisturbed areas between the excavation sites. After the expansion, the total minable area I will be 399 acres, equal to the 501 total acreage less 102 acres of undisturbed area occupied by required set-backs, easements, and the creek bed of Hospital Creek. 1 l , An application for the new mining permit has been prepared separately from this i evaluation and the reader,is directed to that application for more particulars with regard to the project (Brown, 1995). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential for significant adverse impact of the proposed mining activity on the local water supply conditions, primarily groundwater, since groundwater will serve as the source of supply for the mining operation. FSTODDARD&ASSOCIATES AUGUST 1995 -0-PAGE 1