Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 7 <br />Land Use- <br /> <br />Historically, agricultural communities in the Roaring Fork Valley have produced cattle, sheep, <br />and hay. Today, however, sheep production is extremely limited and, on a relative scale. Cattle <br />are now the only significant agricultural commodity exported from the valley. <br /> <br />Other land uses in this region are recreation, timber production, and mining. Recreational uses <br />are seasonal and include skiing in winter, hunting in fall, fishing, camping, river rafting, and <br />backpacking in summer. The Roaring Fork Drainage Basin has become a popular location for <br />vacation homes and condominiums, due in part to the skiing, recreation, and tourism which are <br />popular in the area. <br /> <br />Upland areas on both sides of the Roaring Fork Valley comprise parts of the White River <br />National Forest. Most of the valley bottoms and side slopes are under private ownership. The <br />Roaring Fork Valley is a natural geographic corridor between Glenwood Springs, where the <br />Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers meet, and the town of Aspen. Within this corridor, State <br />Highway 82 connects Glenwood Springs and Aspen, which are the county seats of Garfield and <br />Pitkin Counties, respectively. <br /> <br />Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plans <br /> <br />The general descriptions of the mining operations and facilities have been reviewed by the <br />Division for compliance with the Rules and Regulations. A summary of past mining operations <br />and the current status of the reclamation plan are presented below. Further details regarding past <br />mining operations and the reclamation plan can be found in Sections 4.3 and 4.4, respectively, in <br />Volume I of the permit application. <br /> <br />Coal was extracted from two seams in the North Thompson Creek Mines. Mine Portal Nos. 1 <br />and 3 served as access to the A seam and the Anderson seam, respectively. The A seam (Mine <br />No. 1) was mined first by room-and-pillar and subsequently by the longwall method. The pitch <br />of the longwall was 26 degrees westerly. Eight continuous mining machines were used in the <br />Anderson seam (Mine No. 3). Longwall techniques were not used in Mine No. 3. <br /> <br />Coal from both mines was conveyed to a central surge bin and breaker via two elevated conveyor <br />systems. The office area, two coal storage silos, a wash plant, and a closed-system wash-water <br />recycling system were located adjacent to the breaker. Small amounts of coal were occasionally <br />stockpiled next to the coal silos. <br /> <br />Coal for the silos was transported by truck to the train loadout via County Road 108. The coal was <br />then unloaded into a truck dump bin/60-ton hopper on the west side of the Roaring Fork River <br />and subsequently conveyed over the river to a surge bin located adjacent to the railroad spur <br />where coal was loaded directly into train cars. <br /> <br />The coal refuse disposal area was located about 1,500 feet east of the above- mentioned wash <br />plant. Coal refuse from the wash plant system, as well as underground development waste was <br />disposed of at this location.