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Proposed Civil Penalty Assessment <br />MINREC, Inc / The North Thompson Creek Mine <br />NOV CV- 2014 -001— Issued 4/30/14 <br />June 4, 2014 <br />Materials reviewed: DRMS Inspection Report (9/10/12; 4/23/14); DRMS NOV CV- 2014 -001 (4/30/14); <br />DRMS NOV Modification Notice (5/1/14); DRMS Staff memo (5/21/14). Permittee did not provide <br />comments to the Division regarding the NOV. <br />History [Rule 5.04.5(3)(a)]: <br />No NOVs have been issued at this mine during the 12 months preceding the issuance of this NOV. <br />The History component is therefore proposed to be set at $0. <br />Seriousness [Rule 5.04.5(3)(b)]: <br />The Seriousness component of a proposed assessment may range from $0 to $1750. The amount <br />proposed depends upon whether the violation was one of performance requirements or of <br />administrative requirements. This NOV was written for a violation of performance requirements. <br />In the case of a violation of performance requirements, the amount to be assessed for Seriousness <br />depends upon (1) the probability of the occurrence of the event which a violated standard is <br />designed to prevent, and (2) the duration and extent of the potential or actual damage in terms of <br />area and impact on the public or environment. <br />(1) Events that standards are designed to prevent did in fact occur. Unapproved sealing of a <br />pond's primary spillway inlet and not repairing a hole in that pond's emergency spillway led <br />to a situation that seems to have created instability in that pond's constructed embankment. <br />(2) Actual damage to the environment or upon the public did not occur. The potential damage, a <br />failure of a portion of Pond 9's embankment and some volume of water from Pond 9 flowing <br />into North Thompson Creek as a result of that failure, could have been serious. <br />The Seriousness component of this assessment is therefore proposed to be set at $500. <br />Fault [Rule 5.04.5(3)(c)]: <br />The fault component of a proposed civil penalty assessment may range from $0 to $1500. <br />Assessments of "unavoidable" violations may range from $0 to $250. Assessments for violations <br />that were the result of "negligence" may range from $250 to $750. Assessments for violations that <br />resulted from "intentional conduct" may range from $750 to $1500. <br />The inlet of Pond 9's primary spillway was sealed without prior approval. Water filled Pond 9, <br />then flowed into a hole in the Pond 9 emergency spillway culvert. The hole had been noted in the <br />Division's 9/10/12 inspection report. Not repairing the hole suggests a high degree of negligence. <br />The Fault component is therefore proposed to be set at $750. <br />Good Faith in Achieving Compliance [Rule 5.04.5(3)(d)]: <br />This NOV has not yet been terminated. <br />Good faith credit is therefore not proposed at this time. <br />The Total Proposed Civil Penalty Assessment for this NOV is therefore set at $1250. <br />