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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE Elk Creek C-1981-022 Pg 1/2 29 November 2006 C~~ Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. This was a partial inspection of the Elk Creek and Sanborn Creek Mines conducted by Jim Stark of CDRMS. The inspection was conducted on 29 November 2006. Jim Kiger of Oxbow Mining, LLC accompanied me on the inspection. The mine was actively producing coal at the time of the inspection and the coal stockpile was full. The weather was cold and snowing and there was more than one foot of snow on the ground. A train had just been loaded and was sitting on the tracks at the loadout. Roads: -The mine access road is a paved road. The road is well maintained and in good condition. - The east yard haul road was covered with packed snow but appeared to be stable and well maintained at the time of the inspection. There were no rutting or erosional problems noted on the road. - The road to the Elk Creek portals and facilities area was covered with snow but appeared to be stable and well maintained at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the road. -The haul road to the West Valley Fill covered with snow at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the road. - The haul road to the II-West Valley Fill was inaccessible due to snow at the time of the inspection. -The back entrance to the mine from Highway 133 was covered with packed snow but appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. This road is primarily used to access the Sanborn Creek gob vent boreholes and the mine when a train is blocking the main entrance. Hydrologic Balance: - Pond A contained water approximately three feet below the top and was not discharging at the time of the inspection. The pond is an incised pond. The pond was stable at the time of the inspection. - Pond B contained water approximately four feet below the emergency spillway at the time of the inspection but was not discharging (discharge is through a gated valve below the water level). Jim Kiger indicated that he did discharge the pond the week of 16 October 2006. He said that he sampled for the required constituents in the CDPS Permit. The embankment was covered with snow but appeared to be stable. No erosional problems were noted on the pond embankment. The emergency spillway was stable at the time of the inspection, - Pond D was full (or just below the full level -the top was frozen and there was no discharge so it was difficult to determine) at the time of the. The embankment was covered with snow but appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the pond embankment. The pond has an oil boom and it was in place. The trash rack and anti-vortex device was in placed on the primary discharge pipe. There is some sediment at the inlet of the pond but it does not appear to be a problem at this time. - The East Yard pond appeared to be dry at the time of the inspection. The pond embankment was covered with snow but appeared to be stable. No erosional problems were noted on the pond embankment.