Laserfiche WebLink
Land Uses <br /> Land uses in the area are rangeland,wildlife habitat, and agriculture. Cattle and sheep graze in the <br /> Williams Fork Mountains. Dry land wheat is cultivated on colluvial toe slopes of the Williams Fork <br /> Mountains. Native hay and dry land wheat are cultivated on the soils of the Yampa and Williams <br /> Fork River valleys. <br /> Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plans <br /> The permit area covers 11,156.69 acres. <br /> Mining Method <br /> Total cumulative coal production over the life of the Trapper mine is projected to be a maximum of <br /> 74 million tons. Coal mining occurs at the Trapper Mine using surface mining methods. Draglines <br /> remove overburden and interburden,while front-end loaders and haul trucks remove the coal seams. <br /> Trapper Mining, Inc. has historically oriented the pits north-south,parallel to the downhill dip of the <br /> coal seams. PR-05 reoriented pits G,F and Z (East F-Pit)parallel with the strike of the coal seams in <br /> an east-west direction. Strike line pits progress from north to south. Each successive pit cut occurs <br /> next to and parallel to the previous cut. When more than one seam is recovered in a pit,partings are <br /> removed by dozer, or backhoe, or similar equipment if thin; or by dragline, if thick. <br /> The October 2006 landslide in the East Panel of Trapper Mine created a need for a change in mining <br /> methods for the East Panel area,resulting in Permit Revision PR6. The K-Pit and L-Pit <br /> (originally identified as G Pit)were originally planned as dragline pits, consistent with Trapper's <br /> historical mining method. <br /> Strip Pits and Highwall Mining <br /> Trapper mined or plans to mine coal from the following four pits during the 2018-2022 permit term: <br /> 1. Lancaster(L), Pit <br /> 2. Nighthawk(N)Pit <br /> 3. I Pit and <br /> 4. J Pit. <br /> Pits advance generally southward. Individual cuts in pits are as much as 6,000 ft. long. The <br /> maximum width of a cut is 200 feet. In 2002, D-Pit progressed to the point that it merged with E-Pit. <br /> This combination D/E-Pit is approved for ash disposal,however TMI plans to reclaim this pit as <br /> there is no longer a need to utilize the D and E Pits for ash disposal. A (Ashmore)pit remains open <br /> for ash disposal (see description of ash disposal below). <br /> Highwall mining is proposed to take place in the N, I and J Pits from their initial pit boxcut. The <br /> pits are developed in sections from west to east and contemporaneous backfilling minimizing the <br /> out of pit spoil placement. <br /> Removal of Topsoil and Overburden <br /> Prior to disturbance, and in advance of pit construction,vegetation is cleared and topsoil is removed <br /> and salvaged. Stockpiled soils are shaped and seeded to establish vegetation for protection from <br /> wind and water erosion. After topsoil removal,the overburden is drilled and blasted in advance of <br /> 9 <br />