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May 20, 2014 C- 1980- 007/West Elk Mine JRS <br />LRP. The slopes at these locations were measured at 45.4 %, 41.8% and 40 %, respectively. The maximum <br />approved slope of the LRP outslopes is 2.0:1 (Exhibit 51) or 50% slope. The measured slopes of the reclaimed <br />LRP are within the approved limit. <br />- One additional note since this was a special focus inspection on refuse piles. The West Elk Mine has applied for <br />and been approved to construct what is known internally as the upper refuse pile (Exhibit 50). This pile has never <br />been constructed and, according to Kathy Welt, will probably never be constructed. The RPEE is the currently <br />operational refuse pile that is meant to last the life of the West Elk Mine. <br />REVEGETATION — Rule 4.15 <br />Vegetative Cover; Timing: <br />- There were thistle and hound's tongue plants observed along the RPEE clean water and sediment control ditches. <br />Jessica and Kathy indicated that they already had a contractor on site spraying weeds. Some of the thistle plants <br />did appear as though they had been recently sprayed. West Elk will need to continue to monitor and spray the <br />noxious weeds on the mine site (including the active and reclaimed MDW pads and roads). <br />SLIDES and DAMAGE - Rule 4.12: <br />- The HR -1 slide area was stable at the time of the inspection. The area withstood the winter and the spring runoff <br />well this year. There was some minor movement of some of the straw waddles but not the large scale movement <br />of the surface material that was seen last year (with the movement of the coconut fiber mat and material beneath <br />that). The area was hydroseeded last fall. There is variable early success from this hydroseeding. Some of the <br />areas are showing good early emergence of vegetation and others are showing very little early emergence. There <br />was a trickle of water from the French drain, installed on the west side of the slide, into the RPEE ditch. There <br />was no flow from the drain from the layer of crusher fines that was installed on the east side of the slide. <br />TOPSOIL — Rule 4.06; Removal 4.06.2; Substitute Materials 4.06.4(4); Storage and Protection 4.063; <br />Redistribution 4.06.4: <br />- There was a pile of topsoil at the RPEE (just above the fourth bench) that was left last year as conditions became <br />too bad to load it and haul it to the topsoil stockpile along the Sylvester Gulch haul road. West Elk did permit this <br />stockpile as a temporary stockpile with Minor Revision 403. This topsoil stockpile was seeded to help stabilize it <br />but there was little growth at the time of the inspection. To further stabilize the temporary topsoil stockpile and <br />keep it from sliding, West Elk made a small rock buttress at the base of the pile. The temporary topsoil stockpile <br />was stable and there were no erosional problems noted on the pile. There was a topsoil marker in place on the top <br />of the pile as required. <br />DOCUMENTS RECEIVED: None <br />This concludes the 20 May 2014 partial inspection report for the West Elk Mine. <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 10 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 3 <br />Page 5 of 19 <br />