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April 27, 2018 C-1981-022/Elk Creek Mine LDS <br /> <br /> <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 6 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 4 <br /> <br /> Page 2 of 12 <br /> <br /> <br />Inspection Topic Summary <br />NOTE: Y=Inspected N=Not Inspected R=Comments Noted V=Violation Issued NA=Not Applicable <br />N - Air Resource Protection <br />R - Availability of Records <br />N - Backfill & Grading <br />N - Excess Spoil and Dev. Waste <br />N - Explosives <br />N - Fish & Wildlife <br />R - Hydrologic Balance <br />N - Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan <br />N - Other <br />N - Processing Waste <br /> <br />N - Roads <br />R - Reclamation Success <br />N - Revegetation <br />N - Subsidence <br />N - Slides and Other Damage <br />R - Support Facilities On-site <br />N - Signs and Markers <br />N - Support Facilities Not On-site <br />N - Special Categories Of Mining <br />R - Topsoil <br /> <br /> <br />COMMENTS <br /> <br />This was a complete inspection by Leigh Simmons of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />(Division). Doug Smith of Oxbow Mining accompanied the inspection. The weather was clear and dry. The status <br />of the Elk Creek Mine, as far as the Division is concerned, is “Active” however no coal is being mined and all <br />activity at the site is focused on the early stages of reclamation. <br /> <br />AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS – Rule 5.02.4(1): <br /> Records were available in the mine office, details are given at the end of this report. <br /> <br />HYDROLOGIC BALANCE - Rule 4.05 <br />Drainage Control 4.05.1, 4.05.2, 4.05.3; Siltation Structures 4.05.5, 4.05.6; Discharge Structures 4.05.7, 4.05.10; <br />Diversions 4.05.4; Effluent Limits 4.05.2; Ground Water Monitoring 4.05.13; Surface Water Monitoring 4.05.13; <br />Drainage – Acid and Toxic Materials 4.05.8; Impoundments 4.05.6, 4.05.9; Stream Buffer Zones 4.05.18: <br /> Straw wattles had been installed to control sediment flowing into the roadside ditch from the upper pad. <br />The ditch flows into a small culvert that is not shown on map 2.05-M4 (sheet 3 of 6), but was apparently installed <br />some time ago to prevent haul trucks sliding into the ditch. Changes to the map will be addressed through an <br />ongoing permitting action. <br />Water was flowing in the Elk Creek drainage, and through the recently reclaimed segment of the stream <br />channel. Visually, the water was clearly carrying sediment, but there was no obvious difference in turbidity or <br />color between the water upstream and downstream of the disturbance. <br /> <br />RECLAMATION SUCCESS - Rule 4.15, Rule 3: <br /> The reclamation of the middle pad had been completed, including the restoration of the stream channel, <br />and the grading and seeding of the banks. A GPS track was recorded of the east bank of the stream channel using <br />the Esri Collector app on an Android cellphone. The track appears to conform well to the approved post-mining <br />topography shown on map 2.05 M4 (sheet 3 of 7). At the south end of the reclaimed section the reclamation <br />diverges from the approved plan which calls for the final ~170 ft section of the large Elk Creek culvert (DA) to be