2015-12-31_INSPECTION - M2007001

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PERMIT #: M-2007-001 INSPECTOR’S INITIALS: ERR INSPECTION DATE: July 9, 2015 OBSERVATIONS The Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division/DRMS) conducted an inspection of the Corliss Sand Pit (Permit File No. M-2007-001), a Construction Material Limited Impact 110c Operation Reclamation Permit with 9.9 permitted acres and an approved post mining land use of Rangeland. The mine is located approximately 4 miles east- northeast of Wray, Colorado. Elliott Russell, with the Division, inspected the site. Wally Erickson, also with the Division, accompanied the inspection. Jerry Ritchey represented the Operator and accompanied the inspection. This inspection was carried out as a part of the Division’s normal monitoring program. At 1100 hours, the Division met Mr. Ritchey at the mine site, located a half of a mile east of County Road CC, on the south side of County Road 37. At the time of the inspection the temperature was warm, the sky was overcast, and the ground was dry. The mine site identification sign was observed at the entrance to the site and was in compliance with Rule 3.1.12(1). The permit boundary was delineated by metal t-posts with orange cones on them. The site appeared to be inactive as there was no recent evidence of mining or reclamation activities and no equipment was on-site. Vegetation growing on the sandy pit slopes supports an inactive site. The site consists of a single excavated area, approximately ½ acre in size, within a disturbed area no more than 1.25 acres in size. Mr. Ritchey stated there was no longer a need for this material available at the site and wanted to begin reclamation during the winter. He stated that he wants to leave the northern slope of the pit in the same location and size because it creates a small wind break and would be beneficial in achieving vegetation on the site. The Division agreed with this and recommended that the northern slope be backfilled from material on the pit floor or southern slope to achieve the approved maximum slope of 3H:1V. Doing this should also limit the total size of the disturbed lands because the cut/fill approach would likely disturb more native land. The Division also made the recommendation that if the Operator is concerned with wind impacting reclamation, he could utilize the rough grading approach to create small varying microenvironments across the affected lands to collect windblown seeds from the adjacent native rangeland. The following is a summary of the approved Reclamation Plan; the Division has also attached the plan form the 2007 permit application for the Operator’s reference. The plan involves grading the site to have slopes no steeper than 3H:1V, replacing 4” of topsoil, mulching the site with either 1900 lbs./acre of star or hay or 37000 lbs./acre of corn stalks, seeding the area with the approved reclamation seed mixture, and installing a temporary fence around the reclaimed lands to keep out livestock. The seed mixture includes the following species with Pure Live Seed (PLS) per acre: sand bluestem (3.2), yellow indiangrass (2.0), switchgrass (0.9), prairie sandreed (1.3), western wheatgrass (1.6), and indian ricegrass (1.25). If the Operator plans to leave the access road in-place for the landowner and not reclaim it, the Division will need to receive a signed and notarized letter from the landowner requesting it to remain for their use. Once the reclamation is completed at the site and adequate vegetation is established, the Operator may request a final/full release of the reclamation responsibility of the mine site with the attached form. Prior to returning the $16,600 financial warranty, the Division will inspect the site for this final release. During the inspection, Mr. Ritchey mentioned the possibility of a Succession of Operators (SO), but it was explained to Mr. Ritchey there appears to be some issues with the permit location versus the location of the pit. Though it is on the same landowner’s property, the pit is farther west of where the approved mining and reclamation plan maps show it. This is not an issue at this time due to the Operator’s intent to reclaim the site. It was also discussed that the prospective operator, who may wanted to do the SO, would need to apply for a new permit and overlap the current disturbance to resolve the location issue if they ae still interested in it. This concludes the Division’s Inspection Report; a subset of photographs taken during the time of the inspection are included below. If you need additional information or have any questions, please contact me at Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215, Denver, CO 80203, by telephone at 303-866-3567 x8132, or by email at elliott.russell@state.co.us. Page 2 of 4