Laserfiche WebLink
Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine C1984065: MT7 <br />Operation Plan <br />April 14, 2014 <br />The Wheeler seam was to be mined by hydraulic methods [an exploration program and a hydraulic <br />mining test (in conjunction with the exploration program) preceded development]. Entries within the <br />coal seam were designed to move upslope so that gravity would have caused the slurry of coal and <br />water to flow from the mining section to the portal. Coal was to be transported by a water flume to a <br />preparation facility. The coal was then to be dewatered, and stored for shipment by rail to customers <br />out of the Lacy loadout facility. <br />Development operations commenced in October 1986. Topsoil was salvaged over 35 acres of the <br />disturbed area on the site (twenty -one inches of the Heldt silt clay and 16 inches of Nihil stony loam <br />were removed and were stockpiled on site). The stockpiles consisted of 59,682 cubic yards. Two <br />entranceway portals were driven by a roadheader approximately 500 feet into the hillside. Coal <br />seams were not reached, hydraulic mining never began, and coal was not produced. Development <br />operations were discontinued in March 1987. The decision was made in 1993 to reclaim the site, and <br />reclamation operations were initiated in 1994. <br />Reclamation Plan <br />Reclamation for the Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine involved sealing, backfilling, and regrading the portal areas <br />to blend in with the pre- existing topography. A concrete wall section was built across the portals <br />which were then covered by 25 feet of backfill. Facilities were demolished, and backfill and grading <br />activities were accomplished. Disturbed areas were topsoiled and seeded in compliance with final <br />reclamation specifications. An October 19, 1995 Phase I Partial Bond Release recognized <br />accomplished reclamation work. An estimated 1 acre of disturbance was not granted Phase I Bond <br />Release. The remaining acre was subsequently released on August 17, 2001, along with Phase 11 bond <br />release for the entire site. <br />The sediment control structures will be the last (and are the only remaining) features to be reclaimed at <br />the mine. The features are Sediment Pond A, the concrete splitter box and Culvert 5 at the inlet to the <br />pond, and the Small Area Exemption ditches, berms and sump. Reclamation of these features includes <br />regrading, spreading of topsoil from the two remaining topsoil stockpiles, and establishment of <br />vegetation cover. <br />Subsidence <br />A subsidence control plan was developed for the operation (see permit application pages 4 -87 <br />through 4 -91). Because operations were idled before production began, no subsidence monitoring <br />was initiated. <br />Page 7 of 28 <br />