2015-08-11_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1992080

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Summary Present Status The Carbon Junction Mine was originally operated by Pueblo Coal, Inc. from its original permitting date of October 25, 1983 under DRMS permit C-1982-054. In July 1992, Oakridge Energy, Inc. applied to re - permit the Carbon Junction Mine under a new permit that was assigned file number C-1992-080. The application and permit for the new Carbon Junction Mine was approved on June 25, 1993. DRMS permit C-1992-080 has been renewed four times since its June 25, 1993 issuance. Permit Renewal RN -01 received final approval on July 6, 1998. Permit Renewal RN -02 received final approval on July 31, 2003. Permit Renewal RN -03 received final approval in September 11, 2009. Permit Renewal received final approval on June 10, 2014. Coal mining at the Carbon Junction Mine was completed prior to 1990. The South Pit was reclaimed in 2003 and the North pit was reclaimed in 2006. Gravel operations previously approved in the South Pit area under DRMS Permit M-1992-116 are no longer occurring. The gravel pit has been reclaimed, and Permit M-1992-116 was terminated July 29, 2015. The Carbon Junction Mine is currently in `inactive' status and has completed all reclamation work. All areas of the mine have received Phase I and Phase II bond release. Description of the Environment The Carbon Junction Mine is located in southwestern Colorado, approximately 2 1/2 miles southeast of the town of Durango. Elevation of the area ranges from approximately 6800 feet to 7400 feet. The mine is located in the upper drainage basin of Carbon Junction Canyon. This ephemeral tributary to the Animas River has a drainage area of 0.8 square miles. This stream channel has a steep gradient and is in a steep -walled valley along much of its length. Geology The permit application describes the geology of the permit area and adjacent area (permit application Sections 2.04.5, 2.04.6; Table 4-1; Map 4-2; and Appendix 4-2). The permit area is located on the northern rim of the San Juan structural basin in southwestern Colorado. A sequence of Cretaceous -aged sandstones, siltstones, shales, and coals is exposed in the outcrop belt on the rim of the basin. These strata dip between 26 and 30 degrees to the southeast (into the basin), and strike North 45° West. There are no mapped faults within the permit and adjacent areas. Folding within the general area, however, has fractured the more brittle sandstone and coal strata. The sandstones are resistant to erosion and form prominent ridges and cliffs at outcrops. Stream valleys in the vicinity of the Carbon Junction Mine are controlled by geologic structure. The Animas River has cut a steep -sided valley perpendicular to bedding of the strata, and may be related to a fracture or fault zone in Carbon Junction Canyon. Stratigraphic units exposed in the area include (in ascending stratigraphic order): the Lewis Shale, the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone, the Fruitland Formation and the Kirtland Shale. The following coal seams in the Fruitland Formation underlie the Carbon Junction Mine: the Lewis coal seam ("C" seam), Carbonero seam ("B" seam) and the Shamrock seam ("A" seam). The Lewis Shale is the lowermost formation exposed in the vicinity. This formation consists of between 11