2023-01-25_INSPECTION - M1982121

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PERMIT#:M-1982-121 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: ACY INSPECTION DATE:January 23,2023 OBSERVATIONS On Thursday, January 19, 2023 the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining, and Safety (Division)was notified by RMR Aggregates, Inc. (RMR)that a landslide occurred at the Mid-Continent LST, Permit No. M- 1982-121. The slide occurred the day before (Wednesday January 18, 2023) at approximately 3:05PM. Additionally on January 20, 2022 the Division received a complaint from the Glenwood Springs Citizens Alliance bringing attention to the matter. The Operator complied with Rule 8.1 regarding the emergency notification for the slope failure. In response to this event, Amy Yeldell and Dustin Czapla of the Division conducted a site inspection on January 23, 2023. Bobby Wagner and Brian Fallin of RMR accompanied the Division on the inspection. MSHA representatives were also on site during the inspection, however they were conducting their own independent inspection with another RMR representative. Other agencies: BLM and MSHA conducted an inspection on Friday January 20, 2023. To date the Division has not received a copy of either agency's reports. The Division has had several phone conversations with BLM. During the inspection the Division was informed that MSHA had placed the production bench under a 103K Order. This was described as essentially putting a Cease and Desist Order on the production bench. The Operator must develop and submit a recovery plan to MSHA. Once approved, MSHA will lift the Cease and Desist Order as fitting to safely conduct recovery efforts and eventually restore the site back into normal operations. There are no deadlines associated with this order. The Division requests to be copied on all reports from both agencies. The Division is unaware of any other agency involvement at this time. Site Observations: According to Mr. Wagner, crews were on site working the day of the slide. Personnel were on the south side of the crusher when the slide occurred. The slide first broke loose on the left/west face then it moved to the right/east. The slide area is estimated to be approximately 300 feet wide. No injuries to personnel occurred. A front end loader located near the base of the lowest highwall on the production bench was struck by debris and remains in place. Material ranges in size from small rip-rap to very large boulders, as well as topsoil and vegetation that were located atop the bedrock. Prior to the slide, Mr. Wagner stated that the bench that was engulfed was approximately 40-30' high and 18- 20' deep. And that overall from the base of the production bench to the top of the highwall benches were approximately 140 feet high and 750 feet wide. Based on google earth measurements the Division estimates the total height of the production bench to be closer to 200 feet high. The Division cannot confirm the dimensions of the individual benches as the satellite imagery used is outdated with regards to individual benches since several blasts have occurred. The last blast occurred on December 13, 2022 on a section to the east of the slide area. No evidence of slides were observed in the recently blasted area. The face that slid was last active prior to RMR taking over the site in 2017. Areas of active mining were located below the slide area. There is a distinct difference between the two sides of the highwalls. In general the west side dips much steeper (estimated at 45°)to the south towards the highwall face. The rock also appears to be much more weathered. The eastern side of the production benches appear to be less steep (estimated at 35°)but still dips towards the highwall face. Also the exposed buttress is less crumbly and weathered in appearance. Previously some seepage of water between the bedding planes were observed. However, no actual sustained flows were previously documented. Historically the seepage correlates to precipitation and snow melt events, Page 2 of 9