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Page | 1 <br /> <br /> <br />Mine Site Inspection <br /> <br />Mine Name: Elk Creek Mine <br />Permittee: Oxbow Mining, LLC <br />Permit ID#: C-1981-022 <br />Inspection Date: May 22, 2019 9:00 – 1:15 <br />Inspection Type: Partial Phase I Bond Release (SL-1) <br />Weather Conditions: Cool (40’s), wet ground, building clouds and light afternoon rain <br />Participants: <br /> <br />Christine Belka, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) #182 <br />Leigh Simmons, Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) <br />Doug Smith, Oxbow Mining, LLC <br /> <br />The Elk Creek Mine is an active, non-producing, underground coal mine. The permit area is located in <br />Somerset, Colorado. Oxbow Mining requested Phase I bond release for 20.6 acres under its SL-1 <br />application. The subject areas are the Middle and Lower pads and a portion of the East Yard area of the <br />Elk Creek Mine including the lamp house, intake and belt portal structure, shop, tank farm and wash bay, <br />CV-1 belt drive structure, stack tubes and reclaim tunnel, portions of Sanborn Creek Mine’s conveyor <br />system, and all associated pads and footings. Two sections of Elk Creek have been reestablished. <br />Structures have been removed and the areas have been backfilled, graded, and covered with topsoil or <br />topsoil replacement material and seeded. <br /> <br />The phased bond release process is outlined at Colorado Rule 3.03.1(2). At Phase I, up to 60 percent of <br />the bond may be released for an area when the permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, <br />and drainage control in accordance with the approved reclamation plan. <br /> <br />Reclamation Success: <br />All structures within the nominated areas have been removed and underground openings sealed and <br />backfilled to blend with surrounding topography. <br /> <br />Water was running high in the reconstructed Elk Creek during our inspection. Rip rap is larger than D50- <br />12” indicated in the typical designs. High flows have caused minor bank erosion, although the majority of <br />the stream channel is stable and functioning as designed. <br /> <br />Vegetation is establishing around the upper portion of nominated areas and is just beginning to emerge on <br />the lower portion. All areas are reported to be in either their first or second growing season. Vegetation <br />evaluation is not conducted under Phase I bond release. No rills, gullies, or other erosion-related features <br />were noted. Slopes were stable and tied in well with surrounding undisturbed lands. <br /> <br />The road remains in place to access the natural gas power generation plant. The road is in good repair <br />with positive drainage from the surface. <br /> <br />Mr. Simmons employed DRMS’s drone to collect aerial photos and elevation data. All areas proposed for <br />Phase I release were flown with images captured. Post-processing of elevation data will be conducted at a <br />later date. DRMS has not used its drone to verify elevations before. Doing so will help make a <br />determination of whether backfilling and grading operations were conducted according to the approved <br />reclamation plan. Visual evaluation indicates that the reclaimed area is consistent with the reclamation <br />plan, blends well with surrounding undisturbed topography, and the reclaimed Elk Creek channel is <br />functioning as designed.