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November 24, 2015 C-1980-007/West Elk Mine LDS <br />The Division holds a bond totaling $15M for the West Elk Mine, which is $866,651 in excess of the required <br />surety. The bond is in the form of two corporate sureties: Bond number 5010562, for $SM, with Bond Safeguard <br />Insurance Company; and bond number SU 1116159, for $1 OM, with Arch Insurance Company. Presently the <br />Division is comfortable that the bond is secure. <br />hi a decision that has potentially significant implications for the West Elk Mine, on November 20, 2015, the <br />United States Forest Service published a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and <br />proposed to reinstate the North Fork Coal Mining Area exception of the Colorado Roadless Rule. Comments are <br />due by January 4, 2015. <br />AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS — Rule 5.02.4(1): <br />Records were available in Kathy Welt's office. Detailed comments are made at the end of this report. <br />HYDROLOGIC BALANCE - Rule 4.05 <br />Discharge Structures 4.05.7, 4.05.10; Surface Water Monitoring 4.05.13; Impoundments 4.05.6, 4.05.9: <br />The discharge permit for the West Elk Mine, C00038776, has been administratively extended since 2009. <br />Kathy Rosow of the Water Quality Control Division confirmed that the discharge permit is due for renewal, but <br />said that there was not yet any firm schedule for completion of the process. <br />A focus of the inspection was on CDPS outfalls and ponds (and on clarifying the relationship between them). <br />This task was made more difficult by the fact that the outfall locations are not marked on Map 34, Locations of <br />Hydrologic Monitoring Stations, or any of the other maps in the permit (the mine permit that is), or the Annual <br />Hydrology Reports. <br />Some of the CDPS outfalls are for discharge structures that are no longer in use and could be removed from the <br />CDPS permit; in other cases the outfalls are no longer appropriately located. During the inspection all ponds and <br />outfalls that were accessible were found to be in compliance. The inspection notes are summarized in table 1. <br />Table 1: CDPS outfall/pond inspection notes <br />CDPS outfall Pond ID Inspected? <br />ID <br />004A/W MB -2R Yes <br />Notes <br />Pond removed [see 0091 <br />005A <br />M13-3 <br />Yes <br />Outlet partially blocked — should be cleared. <br />007A <br />WWTP <br />Yes <br />008A <br />M13-4 <br />Yes <br />Also known as "Loadout Pond". Only treats wash down water <br />009A <br />M13 -5E <br />Yes <br />Outfall no longer appropriately located for re -sized ponds, so water would be <br />pumped to location of 004 for discharge <br />Mine water, Sly Gulch, pump disconnected <br />011A/W <br />Yes <br />012A/W <br />No <br />Mine water, Mn Creek <br />013A/W <br />No <br />Mine water, LP Gulch <br />014A <br />SG -1 <br />Yes <br />Water pumped from SG -1 to MWT/Deep Well Ponds <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 3 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 2 <br />Page 3 of 15 <br />