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Description of the Operation Plan <br />Coal was mined, washed, stockpiled and then trucked from the mine site to market. Coal mine <br />waste, including coarse and fine refuse, was disposed of in a permitted refuse stock pile (aka, the <br />refuse disposal area or RDA) located at the mine site. The RDA has been covered with a <br />minimum of four feet of nontoxic, noncombustible material. Design capacity for the RDA is <br />approximately 3.8 million cubic yards. Geotechnical stability analysis was conducted in 1981 by <br />the original permittee, Dorchester Coal, Inc.; the report can be found in Exhibit 18 of the PAP. <br />In addition, an analysis of soil suitability for growth medium and revegetation success was <br />conducted in 1988 (see Exhibit 9 of the PAP). Two rock underdrains have been constructed <br />beneath the refuse pile to properly dewater the refuse pile and contribute to slope stability. The <br />pile has been approved to be at the height of 75 feet while retaining a factor of safety greater than <br />1.5; surveys of the pile have indicated a height of no greater than 70 feet. <br />Coal was mined by the room and pillar method, using continuous miners. Coal was transported <br />from the working sections of the mine to the surface by a belt conveyor, and then dumped in a <br />raw coal stockpile. Raw coal was sized, crushed, and cleaned by gravity separation in a <br />preparation plant at the mine site. A belt press was then used to dry the coal prior to transferring <br />the coal to stockpiles where it was eventually trucked off site. <br />A coal loadout facility existed approximately 1.5 miles west /northwest of Florence. This area <br />had been used for coal loading and other activities prior to 1985 when it was purchased by EFCI. <br />There are no haul roads at the Southfield Mine site or loadout. All coal was loaded into highway <br />haulage trucks within the open mine yard which extended to County Road 92. The mine has <br />one access road to and from the mine refuse disposal area, which extends from County Road 92 <br />to the refuse pile. All the permitted roads for the mine site can be found on Map 18 of the PAP. <br />The access road was constructed in 1982 and is maintained in compliance with applicable <br />regulatory requirements. The access road is approved to remain as a permanent road. Several <br />existing ranch roads were used for occasional access to monitoring sites or reclamation activities. <br />Water monitoring activities (described in Section 4.05.13 in PAP) are currently required for the <br />Southfield Mine. These include monitoring of wells, receiving streams, and pond discharges. <br />Revision TR -43 is an application to terminate this monitoring; it is currently under review by the <br />Division. <br />Description of the Reclamation Plan <br />Following cessation of mining operations at the Southfield Mine, the site was reclaimed in <br />accordance with the reclamation plan found in the PAP. Support facilities were removed from <br />the site or buried on site in designated areas (the truck tunnel being a notable exception). The <br />portals were sealed and the area was then graded so as to return it to approximate original <br />contour. The disturbed areas have been covered with topsoil and seeded and mulched so as to <br />10 <br />