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<br /> <br /> <br />Peabody Sage Creek Mining, LLC <br />Peabody Sage Creek Mine <br />29515 RCR 27 <br />Oak Creek, CO 80467 <br /> <br /> <br />Ms. Tabetha Lynch April 30, 2019 <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street - Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203-2273 <br /> <br />RE: Peabody Sage Creek Mine (Permit No. C-2009-087) – Minor Revision (MR31-19) Wetlands <br />Enhancements <br /> <br />Dear Ms. Lynch: <br /> <br />Consistent with previous permit approvals, Peabody Sage Creek Mining, LLC (PSCM) requests <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (CDRMS) concurrence with plann ed <br />maintenance (repair/replacement) on the wetland enhancements that were previously established <br />downgradient of Pond 002 in 2013 as approved under Minor Revision MR19-13. PSCM is also <br />providing information on new wetland enhancements in the area downgradient of Pond 004 as a <br />postmining land management practice for bond released areas no longer subject to CDRMS permitting. <br />Implementing these wetland enhancement activities is consistent with PSCM’s ongoing efforts to <br />comply with environmental performance requirements under both the applicable CDRMS regulations <br />(Pond 002), applicable water quality effluent limitations under our Colorado Department of Public <br />Health & Environment – Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) discharge permit (Ponds 002 and <br />004), and sound land management practices. PSCM’s proposal would involve two components: <br /> <br />Maintenance (repair/replacement) of previously established wetland enhancements in the area <br />downgradient of Pond 002 that were initially approved and completed in 2013. The referenced <br />Pond 002 wetland enhancements were approved by Colorado Division of Mining Reclamation and <br />Safety (CDRMS) as Minor Revision MR19-13 and under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) <br />Nationwide Permit 27 authorization from Mr. Stephen Moore dated J une 13, 2013. The planned <br />maintenance activities are consistent with these previous approvals, and information is being <br />provided to both the CDRMS and ACOE as a courtesy to keep these agencies updated re: activities <br />related to their previous approvals, and to verify their concurrence with the planned maintenance <br />activities. <br /> <br />Completion of new wetland enhancements in the area downgradient of Pond 004. The planned <br />Pond 004 enhancements are similar to those established for Pond 002, including selective placement <br />of straw bales to slow and distribute channelized flow over the wetland areas and planting of <br />willow/riparian root-balls to enhance the existing wetland vegetation community. The proposed <br />new Pond 004 wetland enhancements represent a postmining land management practice, given that <br />the associated drainage area has been released from reclamation liability coverage and Pond 004 <br />has been approved as a permanent postmining drainage feature. <br /> <br />The existing wetlands below both Ponds 002 and 004 are effectively “manmade” wetlands, since they <br />are the result of continuous discharge from the constructed Sedimentation Pond 002 and 004 structures. <br />The existing and proposed wetland enhancements are designed to serve a twofold purpose; 1) To expand <br />and improve existing wetland areas as a means of providing effective long-term passive treatment of