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<br /> <br />May 18, 2018 <br /> <br />BY ELECTRONIC MAIL <br /> <br />Glenda Owens <br />Acting Director <br />U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement <br />1849 C St. NW <br />Washington, D.C. 20240 <br />gowens@osmre.gov <br /> <br />David Berry <br />Western Regional Director <br />U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement <br />1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202 <br />dberry@osmre.gov <br /> <br />Re: Citizen Complaint Under Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Failure of <br />West Elk Coal Mine in Colorado to Control Fugitive Dust From Coal Piles <br /> <br />Dear Ms. Owens and Mr. Berry: <br /> <br />Pursuant to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (“SMCRA”), 30 U.S.C. §§ <br />1267(h)(1) and 1271(a)(1), and regulations thereunder, 30 C.F.R. § 842.12(a), WildEarth <br />Guardians hereby writes to inform the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and <br />Enforcement (“OSMRE”) that violations of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act <br />(“SMCRA”) and SMCRA regulations are occurring at Arch Coal’s West Elk coal mine in <br />Gunnison County, Colorado, Permit No. C-1980-007. Accordingly, we request that OSMRE <br />conduct a federal inspection in accordance with 30 C.F.R. § 842 and take appropriate action to <br />resolve any violations. <br /> <br />Specifically, WildEarth Guardians recently observed that Arch Coal is failing to control <br />fugitive dust emissions from coal piles at the West Elk mine. On May 10, 2018, Guardians <br />observed billows of coal dust being released by the coal piles that were created by windy <br />conditions. These observations were made off of Colorado Highway 133, which passes right <br />next to several coal piles at the West Elk mine. For several minutes, highly visible clouds of coal <br />dust were observed blowing from the piles and being transported away and possibly off-site. <br /> <br /> Below are several pictures that were taken of these dusty conditions and the visible dust <br />emissions from coal piles at the West Elk mine. They were taken around 5:00 PM MDT.