Laserfiche WebLink
West Elk Mine <br /> <br />2.05-26 Rev. 06/05, 01/06, 03/06, 04/06 & 05/06- PR10; 01/09- MR350; 04/09- TR116; 04/09- MR353; 05/09- MR354; 08/09- TR118; <br />08/09- TR119; 09/12- MR387; 11/12- MR390; 07/18-PR15; 11/18- MR430; MR438- 09/19; MR439- 11/19; 07/20- MR447; 6/22- <br />MR464; 6/22 MR466; 6/22 MR468; 11/22 MR471; 07/23 MR474; 8/23 MR476; 09/23 MR477, 10/23 MR478, MR479, 1/24-TR152 <br />The West Elk Mine area is served by the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP). A 6,000-foot long <br />railroad siding and a small auxiliary siding, constructed within the right-of-way of the UP railroad, <br />serves the loadout facility (owned and controlled by UP). <br /> <br />Access Control <br /> <br />Access to the West Elk Mine is controlled with electronic security gates at the silo pad entrance and <br />the main mine site entrance off State Highway 133. To enter into the mine site, the gates are controlled <br />by an electronic card reader. To exit the mine site, an electronic “exit loop” will activate the gates. <br />A phone was installed at the main mine site gate for visitors. Locked manual gates control other <br />entrances to the disturbed area (i.e. Lone Pine Gulch, the North Soil Storage Area, and the Refuse <br />Pile Expansion). The old highway access gate also consists of 31 concrete barriers to assist in <br />controlling mine access as well as sediment control, for any storm events over the 10yr/24hr events. <br />The barriers are 2’x2’x6’ in size and are stacked two barriers high. Security monitoring of the mine <br />area occurs as necessary. <br /> <br />In addition to fences and security monitoring, signs are used to control access to the permit area and <br />facilities within the area. Signs identifying the mine area are displayed at all points of access from <br />public roads and highways. These signs show the name, business address, and telephone number of <br />the Permittee and identification numbers of current mining and reclamation permits or other <br />authorizations to operate. Although not required (see MR-366), permit boundary signs are present <br />along the perimeter of the disturbed mine site where natural or constructed features do not provide <br />boundary demarcations. Topsoil stockpiles, subsoil stockpiles, and the refuse area are clearly marked <br />with material identification signs. <br /> <br />Soil Stockpiles <br /> <br />As West Elk Mine is an underground mine and most of the reclamation will not begin until the end of the <br />life of the mine, it is necessary to have subsoil and topsoil stockpiles. The main topsoil pile is located to <br />the south of the run-of-mine coal stack-pad and will be used for reclamation of the main mine facilities <br />area. Some subsoil from the subsoil pile in Sylvester Gulch, (Live Subsoil Pile #1) as well as the topsoil <br />from the stockpile at the North Soil Storage Area (NSSA), will be used for reclamation of the Lower Refuse <br />Pile. MCC has also stockpiled topsoil from the Refuse Pile Expansion (RPE) area and the widening of the <br />mine entrance at the NSSA on the north side of Highway 133. <br /> <br />Landslide Corrective Measures <br /> <br />In 1997 and 1998, MCC employed several corrective measures to stabilize the landslide at the main mine <br />facilities area, as surges of movement had been experienced in 1996 and 1997. The corrective measures <br />included the installation of rock buttresses, stone columns, horizontal drains, pins (micro-piles), and the <br />expansion of the roller compacted (RCC) buttress. These structures are described in detail, and their <br />effectiveness in improving the stability of the facilities area is discussed in Exhibit 14C, 1998 Landslide <br />Corrective Measures Report by Barr Engineering/Harding Lawson Associates. The purpose of the <br />corrective measures was to prevent catastrophic failure, which MCC was successful in doing. MCC will <br />continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective measures over time to evaluate their effectiveness <br />for the long term (i.e. post-reclamation). MCC is collecting water level data and movement data from <br />various piezometers, inclinometers, and survey mirrors around the mine site on a scheduled interval. Based <br />on the data collected, MCC will reevaluate the slope stability analyses after spring runoff each year and