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production level at the mine was increased to 1.3 million tons per year. The production level at <br /> the loadout was increased to 1.6 million tons per year. The mine plan was also revised to <br /> accommodate the increase in production. Continuous mining remained the mining method. <br /> With the approval of Technical Revision No. 29 (TR-29) on July 15, 1997, Oxbow Mining, Inc. <br /> (now Oxbow Mining, LLC.) began longwall mining. The anticipated annual coal production <br /> was increased from 1.3 million tons per year to 4 million tons per year. To handle this increase <br /> in production, TR-29 also approved Oxbow Mining, Inc.'s plans to improve the coal handling <br /> facilities, increase the coal stockpile size, construct a new coal waste disposal site, move existing <br /> or build new support facilities and modify the train loadout for the new production rate. <br /> The West Valley Fill coal refuse area was permitted through TR-29 for use when the East Yard <br /> waste pile was filled to capacity. The operator began using the West Valley Fill coal refuse area <br /> during the third quarter of 2000. TR-43 approved the new 11 West Coal Refuse Facility in <br /> October 2003. <br /> On January 26, 1999, Oxbow Mining, Inc. evacuated the Sanborn Creek Mine due to elevated <br /> levels of carbon monoxide. The concern was that the elevated levels may have indicated a mine <br /> fire. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Division were notified. <br /> Emergency measures were taken to seal the mine openings. Two days after the sealing of the <br /> mine openings, there was an explosion in the mine, presumably due to a buildup of methane. <br /> MSHA directed Oxbow Mining, Inc. to drill emergency boreholes into the mine, for water <br /> injection and for gas monitoring. In February of 1999, Oxbow Mining, Inc. pumped <br /> approximately 88 acre-feet of water from the North Fork of the Gunnison River through one of <br /> the emergency boreholes and into the Sanborn Creek Mine in the longwall area where the <br /> spontaneous combustion event was suspected. <br /> In April of 1999, Oxbow Mining, Inc. concluded that additional inflow was entering the mine <br /> workings and had the potential to flood the longwall equipment. The source of the additional <br /> inflow was not known and had an approximate inflow rate of 200 gpm. With the Division's <br /> approval, through Technical Revision No. 34 (TR-34), Oxbow Mining pumped out mine water to <br /> the North Fork of the Gunnison at a rate of about 2,000 gpm. The pumping occurred from July <br /> 1999 to the first week of October 1999. Oxbow Mining made a decision to dewater only half of <br /> the longwall panel in question and stabilize the water level in the mine thereafter. The longwall <br /> restarted operations at the beginning of November 1999. <br /> In anticipation of mining out the Sanborn Creek Mine B seam reserves, Oxbow Mining, Inc. <br /> submitted, on November 6, 1998, a revision to begin construction of the new Elk Creek Mine. <br /> Technical Revision No. 32 (TR-32) sought Division approval to construct the new portals and <br /> associated surface facilities, and to begin mining of private coal at the Elk Creek Mine. The <br /> construction proposed in TR-32 increased the disturbed area by 23.7 acres north of the main <br /> Sanborn Creek Mine facilities, along the west side of Elk Creek, and included two temporary <br /> fills over Elk Creek. Fill material was placed within the channel of Elk Creek and the creek flow <br /> was diverted through two nine-foot diameter culverts buried by the two fills. Oxbow Mining, <br /> Inc. submitted a geotechnical stability analysis demonstrating that the two fills in Elk Creek <br /> would be stable. The activities proposed in TR-32 required specific authorization by the <br /> 8 <br />