2013-10-01_REPORT - C1996083 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Notes for site visit September 30, 2013: Gob Pile #2 is being actively worked in two areas. The first area is the top east portion of the pile that was previously referred to as the NOV area. The second area is between benches #3/4. Based on a photo sent to me by Bill last week, all of the end dumped material in the NOV area has been placed and compacted. The top of gob pile #2 is looking very good. To utilize the new flat area on top of the pile, small piles of gob are being strategically placed in preparation for final placement and compaction. The recently placed material is from pond cleanout and ditch & road maintenance. All of the ponds except for Pond K are holding water and sediment. Dewatering of the ponds has become very difficult. The large storm events this summer have conveyed clays and other fine soil particles into the sediment ponds making it very difficult to dewater and clean out the sediment. The hot weather is gone and we are rapidly approaching winter when pond cleanout becomes very difficult. As practicable, the plan for the near future is to continue dewatering the ponds and clean out sediment as soon as possible. I walked the upper diversion ditches around Gob Piles #2 and #4. Overall, the ditches have held up very well. There are only two sections of ditch that needed repair, or to be monitored after large storm events. 1) The upslope above the riprap section of the W. Diversion Ditch #2 has eroded during the large monsoon events and very slightly covered some of the riprap along the channel bank. The flow path is still functional, but that section of ditch will need to be monitored after future large storm events. 2) There is a tree in the flow path of the East Diversion Ditch #2 that needs to be removed. The tree location is just north of the switchback on the haul road, where ditch F -10 crosses the road. Our next stop was gob pile #3. Gob was actively being dumped while I was on site, and the material was being worked in an effort to get it to dry. Standing water was noticed in two ditches. In upper ditch DJ8 -1 a rock is in the flowline, so the contractor has been working to cut through the rock. In the toe ditch, J8 -3, after the most recent storm event, sediment accumulated, so it needs to be cleaned out. Coverfill is still being salvaged in the eastern section of gob pile #3. They are running out of room for coverfill storage, so we are evaluating options for additional material storage locations. Within the currently approved disturbed area boundary, (after topsoil is salvaged), coverfill could be stacked between the two coverfill stockpiles that are already in place. And, in the near future, they will start hauling coverfill back to gob pile #2. A technical revision will be submitted that will revise the gob pile configuration as well as the disturbed area boundary. The coverfill pile was not constructed exactly as it was permitted in order to give Bob Barnes the opportunity to work his hay fields for as long as possible. And, the mine has told Mr. Barnes they will not disturb the area where the coverfill stockpile was originally situated. Therefore, the disturbed area boundary will be revised to reflect that commitment as well as expanded in other areas to give the mine as much room as possible for coverfill storage. A minor revision will be submitted to designate an area for gob drying activities. The area that will be used is what is currently being used as the interim gob storage location, and it will be expanded to the east. The current haul road alignment will be re- routed to parallel the upper diversion ditches (DJ8 -1 & J9 -1). Relocating the road will create more available area for gob drying activities.