2015-12-31_REVISION - C1981025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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No record was found where a third portal, located between US Forest Service Road 306 and Middle Thompson Creek, was used during permanent permit time periods. An air shaft, the Stoney Ridge air shaft, was located in the Middle Thompson Creek drainage to the south of Portal 1. Coal processing and other major surface facilities were located to the northeast of Portal 1 between North Thompson Creek and County Road 108. Coal was hauled by truck via County Road 108 and a spur road to a loadout facility. The spur road and loadout facility, which have been released from the permit, were located on private lands within Garfield County, Colorado, northwest of Carbondale. Coal was dumped from trucks on the west side of the Roaring Fork River and conveyed by a conveyor belt across the Roaring Fork River to a rail loadout facility on the east side of the river. The former permit area east of the center of the Roaring Fork River (the 29 -acre Diamond A parcel) was released from bonding requirements and the permit in 1994 (sl - 03), and is not included in the current permit. Following the approval of Bond Release SL -06, the permit area is 1,086.00 acres. This includes 20.00 acres of federal and 1,066.00 acres of private lands, all of which are at the mine site (the 36 at the loadout was released with the approval of Bond Release SL -05). Of these, 67 have been disturbed by surface activities. By 1988 demolition of structures and grading and seeding of disturbed areas had been completed, and a Phase I bond release was approved (SL -01). However, mine water seeps had developed at Portal 1. A 22 -acre area was re -disturbed to accommodate a mine water discharge collection system and treatment facility in 1988. In 1995, mine water discharges from Portal 3 were diverted to the treatment facility, resulting in a total of 2.6 acres re -disturbed for the mine water portals discharges collection and treatment system. A 100% bond release (reduction) was approved in 1993 for a section (approximately 2 acres) of permanent road located in the loadout site (SL -04). On 22 December 2009 the Division approved a Partial Phase UIUIII Bond Release, SL -06, at the North Thompson Creek Mine. This release granted a full Phase III release on all areas that did not overly the workings, reducing the current permit boundary to 1,086.00 acres. This release also included all of the remaining surface areas with the exception of the 4.10 acres that comprise the passive treatment system for the Portal #1 and Portal 93 mine water discharge. This passive treatment system has been permitted as a permanent feature (a developed water resource) and will not be reclaimed. The approval of TR - 28 incorporated 7.50 acres back into the permit boundary for the addition of a pond to the passive treatment system, increasing the current permit boundary to 1,093.50 acres. Based on the approval of Bond Release SL -06 and TR -28, there is no remaining reclamation work required at the North Thompson Creek mine. II - ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS There has been one enforcement action taken in the last two and a half years since the last permit renewal, RN -06. The Notice of Violation (NOV), CV -2014-001, was issued on April 30, 2014. The violation was issued for the failure to maintain the Pond 9 discharge structure to minimize impacts to the hydrologic balance; and failure to maintain spillways and emergency spillways from a treatment facility. During a complete inspection on April 23, 2014, the primary spillway was observed to be blocked. The emergency spillway had been diverted to a stock pond off of the permit boundary (that would later be reincorporated into the permit boundary as the Refuse Pond). The North Thompson Creek Mines C-1981-025 2015 Midterm Review (MT -07) -3- 31 December 2015