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May 20, 2014 C- 1980- 007/West Elk Mine <br />Inspection Topic Summary <br />NOTE: Y= Inspected N =Not Inspected R= Comments Noted V= Violation Issued NA =Not Applicable <br />N - Air Resource Protection <br />N - Roads <br />N - Availability of Records <br />N - Reclamation Success <br />N - Backfill & Grading <br />R - Revegetation <br />N - Excess Spoil and Dev. Waste <br />N - Subsidence <br />N - Explosives <br />R - Slides and Other Damage <br />N - Fish & Wildlife <br />N - Support Facilities On -site <br />R - Hydrologic Balance <br />N - Signs and Markers <br />N - Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan <br />N - Support Facilities Not On -site <br />N - Other <br />N - Special Categories Of Mining <br />R - Processing Waste <br />R - Topsoil <br />COMMENTS <br />JRS <br />This was a partial inspection of the West Elk Mine conducted by Jim Stark of the Colorado Division of <br />Reclamation, Mining and Safety. This was also an OSM special focus inspection on refuse piles. Weston Norris, <br />Kathy Welt and Jessica Loveland, representing Mountain Coal, LLC, and Spencer Shumate and Jeremy Spangler, <br />representing the OSM, accompanied me on the inspection. The West Elk Mine was operational at the time of the <br />inspection. They were mining and shipping coal and the wash plant was operational. The weather was warm and <br />clear and the ground was mostly dry. Field measurements for slope were taken on the RPEE, RPE and LRP (see <br />details in the "Processing Waste" section below. All of these measurements were taken with a TruPulse 360R <br />laser. <br />HYDROLOGIC BALANCE - Rule 4.05; Drainage Control 4.05.1, 4.05.2, 4.05.3; Siltation Structures 4.05.5, <br />4.05.6; Discharge Structures 4.05.7, 4.05.10; Diversions 4.05.4; Effluent Limits 4.05.2; Ground Water <br />Monitoring 4.05.13; Surface Water Monitoring 4.05.13; Drainage — Acid and Toxic Materials 4.05.8; <br />Impoundments 4.05.6, 4.05.9; Stream Buffer Zones 4.05.18: <br />-The RPE pond east cell contained water just below the level of the equalizer pipe for the west cell. The operator <br />had a pump set up and was pumping water from this pond for use in the wash plant. The west cell of the pond <br />contained a small amount of water. Neither pond cell was discharging at the time of the inspection. The RPE is a <br />lined pond. The pond embankment was well vegetated and stable and no erosional problems were noted on the <br />pond. <br />- The clean water RPEE ditch on the upper west portion was measured at approximately 25% grade. This ditch <br />was riprapped with a D50 of approximately 18 -inch. The upper portion of this ditch is a vegetation lined ditch. <br />The slope of this portion of the ditch was measured at approximately 5 %. Both the vegetation -lined and riprapped <br />portion of the ditch were stable at the time of the inspection and no erosional problems were noted in either. <br />- The lower portion of the clean water ditch, below the rock buttress, is also a riprapped ditch that follows the <br />natural grade of the drainage in that area, which ranges from 5 -18 %. This ditch is intercepted by the haul road <br />ditch below the rock buttress. There is a culvert that conveys the water under the road and into the freshwater <br />ditch. There is also a small sump in front of the culvert to collect sediment before it reaches the culvert (as a BMP <br />for the haul road). According to Kathy Welt, this sump was just cleaned and the backhoe pushed some sediment <br />up against the culvert, blocking approximately half of the culvert. The Division mentioned that the culvert needed <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 10 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 3 <br />Page 2 of 19 <br />