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BEFORE THE MINED LAND RECLAMATION BOARD <br /> STATE OF COLORADO <br /> Notice of Violation No. MV-2024-014 <br /> FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND ORDER <br /> IN THE MATTER OF A POSSIBLE VIOLATION BY TWIN BUTTES LAND CO., <br /> LLP, CORRECTIVE ACTIONS, CEASE AND DESIST ORDER, AND CIVIL <br /> PENALTIES FOR FAILING TO OBTAIN A RECLAMATION PERMIT PRIOR TO <br /> ENGAGING IN A NEW MINING OPERATION, File No. M-2023-038 <br /> THIS MATTER came before the Mined Land Reclamation Board ("Board") <br /> on May 15, 2024, as a consent agenda item to consider a possible violation by Twin <br /> Buttes Land Co., LLP ("Operator"), cease and desist order, corrective action, and a <br /> civil penalty for failing to obtain a reclamation permit before engaging in a new <br /> mining operation, file number M-2023-038. <br /> The Board, having considered the materials presented with this consent <br /> agenda item and having been otherwise fully informed of the facts in the matter, <br /> enters the following: <br /> FINDINGS OF FACT <br /> I. On October 24, 2023, the Division observed what appeared to be a <br /> mining operation in Rio Blanco County while driving on Highway 139. The Division <br /> did not enter the site but made observations from the right-of-way on Highway 139. <br /> The Division observed a large excavation, several stockpiles of processed material, a <br /> dozer a located to the north of the main excavation adjacent to several smaller piles <br /> of material, and a loader actively loading a dump truck with rock. The Division's <br /> report of this investigation, signed October 30, 2023, stated that the Division had <br /> confirmed that no reclamation had been issued for a mining operation at the site. <br /> 2. On December 1, 2023, the Division received permission from the <br /> property owner to conduct an inspection of the site. <br /> 3. On December 11, 2023, the Division conducted an inspection of the <br /> site. The inspection report, signed January 12, 2024, described an operation with a <br /> highwall, stockpiles of material, and other indications of a mining operation. A <br /> representative of the Operator, Owen Robertson, explained that a dozer is used to <br /> push material down from the top of the highwall before it is screened, sized, and <br /> then loaded into trucks for use in surfacing roads on non-contiguous properties <br /> owned by the Operator. <br />