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June 7, 2016 C-1981-012/New Elk Mine RDZ <br /> <br /> <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 10 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 4 <br /> <br /> Page 2 of 19 <br /> <br /> <br />Inspection Topic Summary <br />NOTE: Y=Inspected N=Not Inspected R=Comments Noted V=Violation Issued NA=Not Applicable <br />Y - Air Resource Protection <br />Y - Availability of Records <br />Y - Backfill & Grading <br />R - Excess Spoil and Dev. Waste <br />NA - Explosives <br />Y - Fish & Wildlife <br />R - Hydrologic Balance <br />R - Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan <br />N - Other <br />R - Processing Waste <br /> <br />R - Roads <br />R - Reclamation Success <br />R - Revegetation <br />Y - Subsidence <br />Y - Slides and Other Damage <br />R - Support Facilities On-site <br />R - Signs and Markers <br />R - Support Facilities Not On-site <br />Y - Special Categories Of Mining <br />R - Topsoil <br /> <br /> <br />COMMENTS <br /> <br />A complete inspection was conducted by Rob Zuber of DRMS on June 7, 2016 through June 10, 2016. (Some of <br />this time was spent on the Golden Eagle mine.) The weather was mostly clear throughout the week. The ground <br />was mostly dry, but there was mud in places as a result of heavy rain prior to the inspection. Most notably a heavy <br />storm occurred on June 5, 2016; NECC staff indicated that approximately 1.5 inches fell in less than an hour. <br /> <br />The inspection was an oversight by OSM, both for the overall complete inspection and for the special focus topic <br />of Erosion Control – Coal Mine Waste Banks. The special focus portion of the inspection included the Refuse <br />Disposal Area (RDA) and the Development Coal Waste Pile. OSM participants included Christine Belka and <br />Alexis Long. <br /> <br />The NECC representative who participated in part of the inspection on the ground was Ron Thompson, now a <br />consultant to NECC. Mr. Thompson also was present during part of the records review. Office discussions <br />included the on-site NECC manager, Louis Head, Mr. Thompson, and (on the final day) Vince Massarotti. Mr. <br />Massarotti (normally the main inspection contact for NECC’s three mines) was very busy p erforming maintenance <br />tasks after the heavy rain, and therefore he was not involved in the inspection other than for a brief time. <br /> <br />Trucks were on-site during the inspection to haul away some equipment that is being sold by NECC. <br /> <br />A caveat: identified maintenance items in this report may have been completed by NECC prior to issuance of this <br />report. NECC staff were actively working on many items during the inspection. <br /> <br />EXCESS SPOIL and DEVELOPMENT WASTE – Rule 4.09 <br />Placement; Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization: <br />The overall shape of the DWDA#2 looks good, but there are many rills on the sides. At a steep location on the <br />west end, a clinometer was used to measure the slope, and the result was 42 percent, which is less steep than