Laserfiche WebLink
George Patterson <br />Page 2 <br />December 22, 2014 <br />Two sediment ponds remain at the mine site and two sediment ponds remained at the loadout <br />during the time of these AHRs (the loadout ponds have since been reclaimed). There was no <br />recorded discharge from the ponds for any of the three years. <br />Compliance with the Groundwater Monitoring Plan <br />As listed in Exhibit 25 of the PAP, there are four groundwater monitoring points on site to be <br />sampled semi - annually for water levels and for water quality: Well MW -65 is completed in the <br />Jack O 'Lantern coal seam; Well MW -23 is completed in the Red Arrow coal seam; Well MW- <br />16 is screened from the middle Jack O'Lantern to the bottom of the Red Arrow; and MW -NW is <br />a pipe open to the top of a mine void in the Red Arrow (more discussion on MW -NW below). <br />MW -16 and MW -23 are generally upgradient, and MW -65 is generally downgradient, of the <br />Southfield workings. Although these wells are not necessarily in the same seams, and the seams <br />do not appear to be hydrologically connected, they may be used to exemplify upgradient and <br />downgradient conditions. <br />All four points were monitored in the following months: <br />• June and December of 2011 <br />• June and November of 2012 <br />• June and December of 2013. <br />MW -16 and MW -NW were reported as dry during all three years (six sampling events). In all <br />six events, the samples taken from MW -23 and MW -65 were tested for all of the parameters <br />listed in Exhibit 25 of the PAP. <br />Issues with MW -NW have been well documented. MW -NW is not an actual "well." It is a 6- <br />inch steel pipe, without a screen, that extends to the top of the Red Arrow coal seam and is open <br />to the mine workings. It was originally built to dewater the workings and cannot function as a <br />monitoring well in the strict sense of the term. Furthermore, MW -NW continues to be obstructed <br />by a possible cave -in and a wooden block. Violation CV- 2013 -002 (failure to ensure that water <br />monitoring well MW -NW continues to function as designed) was issued in early 2013. <br />Review of Surface Water Data <br />No samples of surface water were collected for any of the six sampling events because of the <br />lack of flow. Therefore, no analysis is provided. <br />