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PERMIT #: M- 1981 -185 <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: KAP <br />INSPECTION DATE: April 30, 2014 <br />OBSERVATIONS <br />This inspection was conducted as part of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety's oversight of the <br />road upgrade project, represented under TR -02 of the permit. The Board has set a deadline of July 1, 2014 for <br />completion of the road project. This inspection was scheduled as a meeting between the Division and the lead <br />construction company for the project. George Robinson of Wildcat Mining was present. The contractor, Opal <br />Group Inc, (from Colorado Springs) was represented by the president, Oliver Westly and, the project manager, <br />Michael Taylor. Mr. Taylor is the contact for the project at (303) 668 -8075. Other employees of Opal Group <br />were also present, as well as the engineer who will be doing the as built reports for the project, David Mclay of <br />R Incorporated. Victoria Schmidt of La Plata County Planning Department was present, as well as two of the <br />neighbors to the project, Ruth and Jim Olsen. <br />A brief overview of the project and a safety meeting was held prior to entering the construction site. <br />Subcontractors for the project will include Yenter Companies, Inc., Mountain Man Surveying, and Gonzales <br />Construction. No fuel storage is expected on site. The wetlands are being surveyed in order to protect them <br />during construction. Mr. Taylor expressed that it will be challenging to stabilize and build the retaining wall on <br />the lower slope on the downhill side of the road, due to no setback between the toe of the slope and the <br />adjacent wetland. Erosion control will be managed with the use of drainage ditches to carry runoff to a <br />sediment pond that will be constructed in the ravine on the western side of the road near the bottom of the <br />slope. This pond will be designed to fill to 2.5 feet and then decant water off into the wetland. The water that <br />enters the wetland should be devoid of sediments. The current culvert under the road will be removed and <br />engineered outflows will be installed, according to the approved construction plan. Additionally, Opal will be <br />using a specific material to catch sediment referred to as ERTech. Bikus Engineering will be overseeing the <br />quality control of wetland protection at the site. <br />The upper slope will be pulled back to a 1.51-1:1V slope along the portion of the wall that consists of <br />unconsolidated materials. If that is not stable, Mr. Taylor indicated that stability measures will need to be <br />incorporated to stabilize this portion of the slope, including webbing and vegetation. Where the wall is <br />composed of bedrock, the plan is for a 1H:1V slope. The existing road will be straightened along some <br />portions. Some of the lower areas will be filled so that the slope is more consistent along the run of the road. <br />Additionally, beyond the base of the slope the road will be built up with fill to raise it, resulting in better <br />drainage of the road and keeping it higher out of the flood plain. The first part of the project will consist of <br />pulling back the upper slope at the higher end of the road and back filling the cut on the opposite side of the <br />road where the road cut is very close to the fence on the adjacent property. <br />Mr. Robinson indicated that Wildcat has a permit from the Forest Service to use the existing access road to the <br />north for construction purposes. The permit is from May 1, 2014 to July 1, 2014. Weekly progress reports will <br />be available and posted on the Wildcat website. These reports will also be forwarded to the Division. The <br />project is designed to have small areas completed and the as built inspections and reports will be composed <br />and submitted before moving on to the next small area of the project. The Division is aware that a project of <br />this nature may deviate to some degree from the approved plan, due to differences experienced at the site, <br />relative to the plan. It is imperative, however, that the operator ensure that the Division be notified of any <br />potential deviations from the approved plan proposed to be incorporated at the site, so that the Division is <br />able to review the proposed changes to the plan. <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />