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August 26, 2014 C- 1981 - 019 / Colowyo Coal Mine MPB <br />During this inspection we looked at certain accessible sections of each of the three major drainages. We began <br />our inspection at the lower reaches of Taylor Creek. There is no visible evidence of negative impacts to the creek. <br />Photograph No. 1 is a view looking upstream at the Taylor Creek drainage. The creek is deeply incised in the <br />sections we viewed and has only a small amount of flow in the lower portion of the creek. We were unable to <br />drive further up Taylor creek along the access road due to muddy road conditions. There are several sediment <br />ponds located further upstream that discharge to Taylor Creek above the area inspected. <br />Lower Middle Wilson Creek was inspected next. We were able to view a larger portion of this creek via an access <br />road on the north side of the creek. A large section of this creek was deeply down cut during a significant <br />snowmelt and runoff event that occurred in the early 1980s. There is no disturbed area runoff that directly enters <br />the creek. A photograph of Wilson Creek located topographically below the deeply incised section is shown in <br />Photograph No. 2. Wilson Creek below Gossard Loadout is shown in Photograph No. 3. <br />The inspection proceeded to the section of Good Spring Creek that is accessible from Highway 13 along the <br />perimeter of the Colowyo permit boundary. There was no visible evidence of any impact to the creek from the <br />mining operation. The potential does exist for discharge or seepage from within backfill and excess spoil areas <br />contributing to alluvial groundwater and becoming tributary to Good Spring Creek. This could be the case <br />particularly below the Streeter Fill where outflow from the backfill underdrain is dammed up adjacent to Good <br />Spring Creek. A wide angle view of the Streeter Fill and under drain outflow area is shown in Photograph No. 4. <br />Good Spring Creek adjacent to the Streeter Fill is shown in Photograph No. 5. <br />The final location inspected was the Gossard Loadout and the area below the loadout where a surface ditch has <br />been constructed and carries runoff away from the loadout down to Wilson Creek. The location where the surface <br />ditch enters Wilson Creek is shown in Photograph No. 6. The undisturbed land surface between the loadout area <br />and the confluence point shown in Photograph No. 6 is covered with a thin veneer of windblown coal fines that <br />blow off of the rail cars as they exit the loadout and from the coal stockpiles. <br />Based on observations made during this inspection the Division finds that the potential exists for water quality <br />impacts to Wilson and Good Spring Creeks. These areas warrant further investigation relative to the establishment <br />of groundwater points of compliance. The Division's initial recommendations were for two locations for <br />additional alluvial monitoring wells to be utilized as points of compliance for alluvial groundwater as follows: one <br />should be located in the Quaternary alluvium below the juncture of East Taylor Creek and Wilson Creek, and the <br />other should be located in the Quaternary alluvium along Good Spring Creek at some point down hydraulic <br />gradient from the mining impact areas. The Division believes that these are still viable locations for groundwater <br />points of compliance and requests that CCC review the groundwater monitoring program specific to establishing <br />groundwater points of compliance. Please provide the Division with your input and feedback regarding the results <br />of this inspection or alternatively provide your own analysis regarding the need for points of compliance for <br />further discussion and consultation with the Division. <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 2 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 0 <br />Page 3 of 7 <br />