2021-11-15_INSPECTION - M1977251

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PERMIT #: M-1977-251 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: ECS INSPECTION DATE: November 8, 2021 OBSERVATIONS The inspection was conducted by Eric Scott of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division). Jason McGraw was present on behalf of General Shale Brick, Inc. The Lariat Pit is located west of Colorado State Highway 121 in Jefferson County. The site is permitted for 287.62 acres and the post -mining land use is rangeland. The property this permit is located on is owned by Lockheed Martin, and additional activities currently taking place within the permit area include horse grazing and an archery range. Financial Warranty: The Division currently holds a financial warranty in the amount of $156,670.00. The financial warranty was last increased following the approval of Technical Revision No. 4 on January 5, 2015. Although site conditions at the Lariat Pit are largely unchanged, costs have increased substantially over the past 6 years and a bond increase of 64,100 is now required to complete the approved reclamation. The reclamation costs presented in the attached summary were calculated using the same task and quantities specified in the 2014 bond calculations. Please review the included summary of the reclamation costs and contact the Division by December 3, 2021 if you have questions. As stated on the first page of this report, the Division will be sending a separate surety increase notice to the operator regarding the increase of the financial warranty. The operator will have 60 days from the date on the surety increase notice to post the additional financial warranty. Hydrologic Balance: The Operator received approval under Technical Revision No. 2 to capture storm water in a small pit created by the mining operation. The Operator is allowed to detain storm water in the pond and is not required to release the storm water to the natural drainage system within 72 hours. A second storm water detention pond is located at the south end of the lower affected area. The Division observed water in the upper pond, but the settling pond near the lower affected area was dry at the time of this inspection. Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan: The Operator has received approval to operate intermittently, and the site was not active at the time of the inspection. According to the Operator, mining at the Lariat Pit last occurred in 2007. There is some remaining stockpiled material on site which the Operator routinely pulls material from, however, this material is almost depleted. A review of Google Earth aerial photographs of the site shows the size of the stockpiles changes annually. The Division will require that the operator obtain an executed damage waiver agreement, or statement of "no anticipated impact", from the owner of the large power lines crossing the permit prior to the resumption of active mining. The Operator is mining clay, claystone, shale and sand from the South Platte and Graneros Shale formations. The clay beds dip to the east at approximately 58 degrees. The affected area is currently divided into two separate areas; the upper affected area consists of 16 acres and is located at the base of the formations being mined; and a lower affected area of 6.5 acres is located 600 ft. to the east of the upper area.. The Operator has salvaged and stockpiled topsoil; the topsoil stockpile was stable and no signs of erosion were noted. Revegetation: As stated on the first page of this report, there are state -listed noxious weeds (primarily knapweed) present on site. This is a problem for failure to employ weed control methods for state listed noxious weed species within the permitted area, and to reduce the spread of weeds to nearby areas as required by Section 3.1.10 (6) of the rule. The operator will need to implement the weed control plan as approved in TR03 in 2013 and provide proof to the Division that this has been done by the corrective action date of June 30, 2022. Signs and Markers: The permit sign was posted at the site entrance and the boundary of the affected area was clearly delineated as required by Rule 3.1.12 although some markers have been knocked down and will need to be re -set. No other issues were noted during this inspection. Page 2 of 4