2014-03-21_INSPECTION - C1980007

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March 11, 2014 C- 1980- 007/West Elk Mine JRS - Pond MB -4 contained water approximately one foot below the discharge pipe and was not discharging into the receiving stream at the time of the inspection. The presettling sump was full and water was trickling into the main pond. Both the pond and presettling sump are incised, concrete ponds. Both were stable and no problems were noted in the areas around the pond and sump. - The south cell of Pond MB -5E contained water approximately two feet below the emergency spillway and was not discharging at the time of the inspection. The north cell of Pond MB -5E contained water approximately five feet below the emergency spillway and was not discharging at the time of the inspection. West Elk does not yet have a renewed NPDES permit revising the discharge from Pond MB -5E ( Outfall 009) to include water from former Pond MB -2R ( Outfall 004), so all discharges are pumped back to and discharged through Outfall 004 located east of Pond MB -3.. West Elk needs to keep a watching the pond to ensure that it does not discharge. The pond is stable and no erosional problems were noted. - The ditch along the Sylvester Gulch haul road contained a lot of sediment from the recent runoff and rain. he ditch will need to be cleaned. There was a spot (at the upper subsoil stockpile) where the water jumped out of the ditch and traveled down the road for approximately 50 feet then returned to the ditch. The water caused some minor erosion along the road, which will need to be repaired. The culvert was clean so this is not a problem. - The ditch on the south side of the road to the RPE entrance contained a large amount of sediment and needs to be cleaned. There was also a small slide on the cut -slope above the ditch. This slide will need to be repaired. The rest of the ditch was stable and no problems were noted. Water was running in the lower ditch (between the road and the lower reclaimed slopes of the RPE). The ditch was clean and no problems were noted. - The ditch around the LRP contains a fair amount of sediment and needs to be cleaned. The ditch was stable and no erosional or stability problems were noted at the time of the inspection. GENERAL MINE PLAN COMPLIANCE: - West Elk is currently mining in longwall panel E4. They are at station 14 +20 just past cross -cut 10. They have completed the longwall panel E5 headgate and were working on developing the longwall panel E6 headgate (they are at station 46 +00 half way between cross -cuts 25 and 26). West Elk has been working on extending the eight E -Seam South Mains but have not done any development since last month's inspection. All of the mains were developed to cross -cut 79. The last three entries (6, 7 and 8) were extended to cross -cut 84. All of the mining at the West Elk is progressing as permitted and shown on approved Map 51 - E -Seam Projected Operations. PROCESSING WASTE /COAL MINE WASTE PILES — Rule 4.10 and 4.11 Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization; Placement: - The RPEE was not accessible at the time of the inspection. The haul road is closed due to snow a bit after the RPE. The RPEE was viewed from old Colorado Highway 133 (across the North Fork of the Gunnison River). The RPEE and rock buttress were covered with snow but appeared to remain stable. - The RPE was not active at the time of the inspection. The pile was wet and sloppy due to the recent rain and melting snow. The reclaimed outslopes of the pile remained stable. There was, however, some minor rilling on the recently topsoiled and reseeded slopes. This rilling is minor in nature and no action is warranted at this time. West Elk will, however, need to monitor this area to make sure that these rills do not become any larger. Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 7 Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 3 Page 3 of 14