From objectives and scope: This study was undertaken in response to U.S. Bureau of Land Management concerns for the water resources of the Wibaux-Beach area in the event of lignite mining. The objectives of the study were to: (1) Define the stratigraphic sequence within a few hundred feet above and below the minable lignite; (2) define the premining hydrologic and geochemical regime of the Wibaux-Beach deposit area; and (3) describe some of the hydrologic implications of the strip-mining process. A fourth objective, the establishment of historical data base with which to access any modifications to the system attributable to future mining, was accomplished as a byproduct of the other three.

From introduction: The overall purpose of this study were twofold: (1) To determine where greatest yielding wells at shallowest depths would produce water of suitable quality for municipal and industrial supplies; and (2) to determine regional effects of additional water development on the hydrologic system.