2014-06-03_INSPECTION - C1981019

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May 21, 2014 C- 1981 - 019 /Colowyo Coal Mine JRS EXCESS SPOIL and DEVELOPMENT WASTE — Rule 4.09 Placement; Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization: - Colowyo was hauling South Taylor overburden to the West Taylor Fill at the time of the inspection. This overburden material was being dumped on an area above the road at the second lift. It is being placed in the location where the crusher was. Colowyo has completed the first lift of the West Taylor Fill. They have covered this lift, replaced the topsoil and reseeded it. There was good growth on the lift and there were no erosional problems noted. There are two contour ditches on the first lift, one approximately half way up and one basically at the top of the lift. Both of these contour ditches were stable at the time of the inspection. The lateral ditches are riprapped channels. These ditches were also stable at the time of the inspection. There is a pile of topsoil on the east side of the second lift that will be used to reclaim this lift in the 2014 reclamation season. At this time Colowyo will also need to construct the necessary contour ditches and the riprapped lateral drains. - There was no overburden material being placed on the East Taylor Fill. There are no portions of this fill that were reclaimed at the time of the inspection. There were no erosional problems noted on the unreclaimed slopes of the East Taylor Fill. FISH and WILDLIFE — Rule 4.18: - There were a large number of deer and elk on both the reclaimed portions of the East Pit and the Phase III Bond Released portions of the East Pit. There are also many game trails on the reclaimed slopes of the West Pit. HYDROLOGIC BALANCE - Rule 4.05; Drainage Control 4.05.1, 4.05.2, 4.053; Siltation Structures 4.05.5, 4.05.6, Discharge Structures 4.05.7, 4.05.10; Diversions 4.05.4; Effluent Limits 4.05.2; Ground Water Monitoring 4.05.13; Surface Water Monitoring 4.05.13; Drainage — Acid and Toxic Materials 4.05.8; Impoundments 4.05.6, 4.05.9; Stream Buffer Zones 4.05.18: - The West Taylor pond contained water and was being pumped dry for cleaning at the time of the inspection. The discharge was being pumped through the primary discharge pipe. The discharge appeared to be clear. There is a large amount of sediment at the inlet edge of the pond that will be cleaned this summer. The pond embankment was well vegetated and stable and no erosional problems were noted. The emergency spillway is a riprapped, open channel. The spillway was stable. - The Section 28 pond was dry at the time of the inspection. The pond embankment was sparsely vegetated but stable. Even though the vegetation was sparse, there were no erosional problems noted on the embankment. The reason for the sparse vegetation is the exposure of the pond embankment is it does not hold any snow during the winter and dries out rapidly in the spring. The emergency spillway is a riprapped, open channel. The spillway was stable. There were some hound's tongue plants on and around the embankment that will need to be sprayed this spring. - The Prospect pond contained water just below the weep hole and was not discharging at the time of the inspection. The pond embankment was well vegetated and stable and no erosional problems were noted. There was a small amount of sediment at the pond's inlet but it did not appear to need cleaning at this time. The emergency spillway is a grouted riprapped, open channel. The spillway was stable. - The Gulch A pond contained water approximately six feet below the top of the primary discharge pipe and was not discharging at the time of the inspection. There was some erosion at the inlet of the pond but it does not appear to be a problem at this time. Colowyo should monitor this erosion. The pond embankment was well vegetated and stable and no erosional problems were noted. The emergency spillway was stable. Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 12 Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 3 Page 3 of 24