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May 19, 2015 C-1981-012/New Elk Mine <br />LDS <br />season. <br />Although a discussion was ongoing with respect to the damage to highway 12, Mr Head's understanding <br />is that CDOT is entirely liable. <br />A small stockpile (1675 tons, or 14-15 rail cars @ 118 tons per car) of clean coal remained on the clean <br />coal pad; this may be transported to the cement plant at some point in the future. NECC were still in negotiations <br />with GCC. <br />Arcadis were expected to be retained to do vegetation sampling. Following the payment of a retainer they <br />are expected to do some preliminary work. Ron Thompson was expected to be out of town until June 7 — no field <br />work is likely until his return. A big part of the preliminary work will focus on shrub standards at Lorencito. <br />AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS — Rule 5.02.4(1): <br />Records were available at the mine office. Detailed comments are made at the end of this report. <br />EXCESS SPOIL and DEVELOPMENT WASTE — Rule 4.09 <br />Placement; Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization: <br />Both permanent development waste piles were inspected, with no signs of any problems. It had previously <br />been expected that the transportation of material from the temporary piles to the RDA would have begun, but <br />unexpected repairs were found to be necessary for two of the haul trucks and the third was in use at Lorencito <br />Canyon. <br />On the stockpile pad the temporary development waste stockpile had been consolidated and the pad had <br />been compacted ready for the haul trucks. A small berm had been built to protect the clean coal stockpile and a <br />temporary ditch had been cut (which would report to pond 7) to help ensure that the pad is well drained. <br />HYDROLOGIC BALANCE - Rule 4.05 <br />Drainage Control 4.05.1, 4.05.2, 4.05.3; Siltation Structures 4.05.5, 4.05.6; Discharge Structures 4.05.7, 4.05.10; <br />Diversions 4.05.4; Effluent Limits 4.05.2; Ground Water Monitoring 4.05.13; Surface Water Monitoring 4.05.13; <br />Drainage — Acid and Toxic Materials 4.05.8; Impoundments 4.05.6, 4.05.9; Stream Buffer Zones 4.05.18: <br />The mine had received a great deal of precipitation throughout the month of May, and before. The USGS <br />stream gage at Madrid, on the Purgatoire rive, just upstream of Trinidad Lake, shows discharge volumes peaking <br />at over 1300 cfs, compared to median values for this time of year of —100 cfs (see figure 1). No problems were <br />observed around the site - all culverts observed were clear; no ponds were discharging; no water was pooled <br />outside of the ponds and there was evidence of recent breaches of any ditches. <br />The upland diversion ditch above the RDA was in good shape. A couple of boulders had sloughed off the <br />hillside above, but there was no need for any maintenance. A small puddle of water remained at the eastern end of <br />the ditch, but the low spot had largely silted in and the puddle was much smaller than previously. <br />The improvements made to culvert C41 and the area draining to it last year have made a big difference to <br />the site: the light use road is less damaged than it would have been, the gully from the conveyor junction down to <br />pond 8 appears to be stable, and containment 5 (and the straw bales above it) have received less sediment than <br />they would have done. <br />The silt fence at the west end of the topsoil SAE was in poor condition and should be repaired. <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 7 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 4 <br />Page 3 of 19 <br />