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April 30, 2019 C-1980 -007/West Elk Mine LDS <br /> <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 8 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 3 <br /> <br /> Page 2 of 25 <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 />N - 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 />R - Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan <br />N - Other <br />R - Processing Waste <br /> <br />N - Roads <br />N - Reclamation Success <br />N - Revegetation <br />N - Subsidence <br />R - Slides and Other Damage <br />N - Support Facilities On-site <br />N - Signs and Markers <br />N - Support Facilities Not On-site <br />N - Special Categories Of Mining <br />N - Topsoil <br /> <br /> <br />COMMENTS <br /> <br />This was a partial inspection by Leigh Simmons of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />(Division). Ed Ogrodny of Mountain Coal Company (MCC) accompanied the inspection. There was heavy rain <br />before, during and after the inspection. The mine was active. <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 /> Due to a combination of factors (heavy winter snowpack on the higher ground south of the facilities area, <br />warming spring temperatures, and heavy rain), the site was very wet, with saturated ground in many places and <br />rising levels in the sediment ponds. No ponds were discharging, although water was being pumped from the RPE <br />and MB5E ponds to the adjudicated in-mine sealed sump water storage area, and from the SG1 pond to the Mine <br />water treatment pond. No ponds were discharging, nor were they expected to. Ditches and culverts around the site <br />were clear and working as designed. <br /> <br />GENERAL MINE PLAN COMPLIANCE: <br /> The longwall was mining in the LWE8 panel, at around cross-cuts 20 on the LWE8 Headgate. <br />Development mining had progressed to around cross-cut 22 in the Sunset Mains South and to cross-cut 18 in the <br />LWSST1 Headgate, crossing from the Mount Gunnison Fuel Company lease area into Federal Lease C -1362. <br />The Run-of-Mine coal stockpile was still rather large, although it had remained within the stockpile <br />footprint and trains were apparently running frequently. <br /> <br />PROCESSING WASTE/COAL MINE WASTE PILES – Rule 4.10 and 4.11 <br />Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization; Placement: <br /> Processing waste from the wash plant continued to be stored temporarily on the surface of the RPE. Wet <br />conditions meant that access to the RPEE was not practical . Although the volume of the temporary pile was large,