New Elk Mine (C-1981-012) —MT8
<br />Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plan
<br />Of the 3,585 acres originally permitted at the New Elk Mine, 155 acres were already disturbed for working
<br />areas and facilities. Permit Revision #1 added 120 acres to the permit area, of which 36 acres were affected
<br />by new, proposed surface facilities. The resulting permit area encompassed 3,705 acres with 191 acres of
<br />surface disturbance. On October 26, 1998 the Division approved Phase I, II, and III bond release on 3,233.0
<br />acres south of Highway 12 of further liability as per Division written policy for release of areas overlying
<br />underground workings. Of the 3,233.0 acres included in SLI, 597.0 had been undermined, but none of the
<br />acreage had been disturbed at the surface. Included in this area are two small areas of surface disturbance (the
<br />Apache Canyon ventilation shafts), which were transferred to the Golden Eagle Mine permit, #C-81-013. The
<br />resulting permit area totaled about 900 acres.
<br />The Division approved a partial Phase 1 Bond Release No.2 (SL2) on November 16, 2006, for 35.14 acres.
<br />SL2 approved completion of demolition of structures, backfill and grading, of 19.08 acres at the East portal,
<br />and 16.06 acres at the West portal. SL2 also released liability for activities that had previously received
<br />approval but had never been implemented. Liability release of activities never implemented also removed
<br />approval of these activities from the permit.
<br />The existing operation at the time of original permitting consisted of several benches used for storage, office
<br />building, shop buildings, railroad tracks, two portals, conveyors, coal silos, substations, fans, air shafts, a
<br />water tank, a parking lot, four sediment ponds, ditches, culverts, roads, and a refuse disposal area. Surface
<br />facilities added as a result of permitting actions included a refuse disposal valley fill and sediment pond
<br />north of Highway 12, two new topsoil stockpiles, coal stockpiles, conveyors, a preparation plant and
<br />thickener tank, and the Jansen Loadout.
<br />A coal processing plant currently exists at the mine. In 2011, NECC constructed a new set of portals (Bates
<br />Portals) located southeast of the coal silos. The mine plan is shown on Map 3. The Mine plan for the Blue
<br />seam progresses eastward and southward. In May 2011, NECC reopened the Allen seam as well. Allen seam
<br />mine plan progresses mainly to the south and east. Coal is mined by continuous miners. In July 2012,
<br />NECC suspended coal extraction, In May Of 2021, NECC began mining coal again. On June 24, 2021,
<br />NECC submitted Permit Revision No. 5 (PR5), this revision updates the Blue Seam mining plan. The
<br />Division is currently reviewing PR5 and several revisions, updates, and clarifications will be required for the
<br />mine plan, these issues will be addressed under a separate adequacy review letter pertaining to PR5.
<br />A Refuse Disposal Area (RDA) was constructed north of Highway 12 as a valley fill. Coal is processed at the
<br />New Elk Mine. Previous operation of the New Elk Mine processed coal from the Lorencito Canyon Mine.
<br />Coal refuse is transported by conveyor over Highway 12 and deposited in the RDA north of the highway. Pond
<br />cleaning material and small quantities of rock were added to the original refuse pile, now referred to as the
<br />Development Waste Pile (DWP) southwest of the main mine entrance. The DWP reached its maximum size in
<br />late 2006 and was regraded, top soiled, and reseeded. Construction of the Bates portals and development of
<br />workings to access the Blue seam coal seam resulted in excavation and construction of a subsoil stockpile and
<br />a development waste disposal area (DWDA#2). The DWDA#2 is located southeast of the main entrance. In
<br />2012, the Division approved construction of a small material storage area for disposal of development waste
<br />during NECC's permitting (TR65) of a third Development Waste Disposal Area, DWDA#3, located at the
<br />previously reclaimed west portal area.
<br />Following the startup of mining operations in 2011, most of the surface facilities were for a time, put
<br />
|