2015-12-10_INSPECTION - M2002108

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PERMIT #: M-2002-108 INSPECTOR’S INITIALS: AME INSPECTION DATE: December 10, 2015 Page 2 of 12 OBSERVATIONS This was a normal monitoring inspection of the Eikermann site (Permit No. M -2002-108) conducted by Amy Eschberger of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division). Mr. John DeWitt and Mr. Chris Monks represented the operator, Lincoln County during the inspection. The site is located approximately 12.5 miles east of Hugo, Colorado. Access to the site is directly off of Co Rd 45. The site is situated on the edge of a flat that rises to the south/southeast. The affected land is owned by Bob Eikermann. The approved post -mining land use is rangeland. This is a 110c operation permitted for 9.5 acres to mine sa nd and gravel for use in county road maintenance. This is an intermittent operation. The approved permit area is rectangular in shape, and oriented along the side of a hill that rises to the east and south at a 4-5% grade. Mining commenced in the southwestern portion of the site and proceeded northward and eastward. The approved maximum mining depth is approximately 17 feet. Originally, the approved mining slope was 3H:1V. However, with the Division’s approval of Technical Revision No.2 (Revision No. TR-02; approved 04/27/2011), the operation is allowed to leave vertical highwalls during mining. Additionally, TR-02 revised the mining plan to have three access roads connecting the pit to the adjacent county road, rather than one haul road as originally approved. Topsoil and overburden is salvaged and stockpiled on site for reclamation. The approved reclamation plan includes using stockpiled overburden to backfill the highwalls to a 3H:1V or flatter slope gradient, ripping any compacted disturbed areas, replacing an average depth of 6 inches of topsoil across disturbed land, and revegetating the land with a rangeland seed mixture. The haul roads will also be reclaimed. At the time of the inspection, the weather was partly cloudy and breezy, and no standing water was observed on site. A permit sign was posted at the main entrance to the site off of Co Rd 45 (Photo 1). The permit boundary was properly delineated with metal posts (Photos 2-4). The site was not active at the time of the inspection, and no equipment was stored on site. However, according to the operator, the site is active every year, which is in compliance with its intermittent status. Disturbance at the site includes three short access roads on the western edge, a few topsoil stockpiles stored in the northern half of the site (Photos 5 and 6), overburden berms along the eastern (Photo 7) and southern (Photo 8) edges of the site, several material stockpiles of various sizes and shapes stored on the pit floor (Photos 9-11), primarily west-facing highwalls along the eastern edge of the pit at approximately 10-12 feet in height with slopes of near vertical (Photos 12 and 13), and an area in the southeastern portion of the site where topsoil has been stripped (Photo 14). The topsoil stockpiles appeared to be stable with vegetative cover consisting of native grasses mixed with annual weeds. The highwalls appeared to be stable overall, but exhibited some erosional damage in the form of rilling and a few small gullies. If the highwalls will not be mined or reclaimed soon, the Division recommends the operator repair the erosional damage to maintain slope stability. During the inspection, the Division observed that the pit is very nearly mined out, with disturbance already at the edges of the permit boundary. The Division discussed this with Mr. DeWitt and Mr. Monks during the inspection and recommended the operation be very careful not to disturb land outside the approved 9.5-acre permit area. Mr. Monks stated that the operation intends to complete mining in the southeastern portion of the site where topsoil has been stripped, and then will begin final reclamation. The Division also discussed with Mr. Monks the possibility of re-permitting a portion of the reclaimed pit located across the road from the active site (to the west). For the record, the reclaimed site was a 110c operation called the Charles Lane pit (operated by Lincoln County) that was permitted for 5 acres under permit no. M-1984-183. This permit was released in 2005. The Division informed Mr. Monks that the site could be re-permitted with the submittal of a new permit application. Some native grasses (e.g., sand dropseed, switchgrass, blue grama), forbs, and annual weeds are volunteering across the disturbed land. The pit floor had very little to no vegetation (Photos 15 and 16), while the northwestern (Photo 17) and southern (Photo 18) portions of the site have more vegetative cover. Overall, the site appeared to be stable. No problems were observed.