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(Page 2) MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-1995-060 INSPECTION DATE 3/20/06 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO OBSERVATIONS This inspection was performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of Construction Materials 112c permits. The operator was contacted about the scheduled inspection, and the operator's representative named on page one was present during the inspection. The site was not active at the time of the inspection. It has not been actively mined in several years, though some grading work has been performed recently. For the present time the site may be considered to be stable. There are no stockpiles of aggregate material, and no equipment onsite. The site now lies within the limits of the City of Alamosa, and land development is approaching this site. It is not clear if future development in the area will allow or preclude future mining in the permit area. There is an older, pre-permit pit in the NE portion of the site, which is a few feet deeper than the pit excavated after permit issuance. The older, deeper pit has wet areas on the floor. The mining and reclamation plan for the permitted pit does not include a pond so the operator should be careful to not mine so deep that groundwater is exposed, even seasonally. No revegetation has been carried out on the site. There is alkaline soil here, so the revegetation plan should be reviewed to determine if it is appropriate for the conditions. (Surrounding undisturbed land is dominated by greasewood and saltbush.) Mining to-date has affected the eastern portion of the permit area. The NE corner marker (steel T-post) was in place, but had been knocked down; it should be re-installed. There is a survey pin along the eastern access road, marking the property line as well as the permit boundary. The other corners were not marked and not clearly seen (though the topsoil berm along some of the south boundary delineates the approximate boundary and limit offsite disturbance). There was no permit ID sign notes at either the NE or SE entrance locations. Pursuant to Rule 3 1 12 signs and markers are required The lack of permit boundary The map that has been used in the annual reports is not up-to-date or drawn to scale and is therefore inadequate. This is noted as a problem in this report. When the operator surveys the site for proper boundary marking, the necessary measurements should be taken to draft a map of the current conditions. The updated map is to be submitted in addition to the 2006 annual report, which is due on the April 1 s` anniversary date. To allow sufficient time to survevthe site and draw the map, the correction date for submitting the map is extended to June 1, 2006. The annual fee and written annual report are still due by April 1, 2006. (This upcoming map, if it is updated as needed, may also be submitted with future annual reports.) See the last page for the correction date. The site is accessible to the public, which poses some liability to the operator for injuries, but also for the household trash that is occasionally dumped there. There is a small amount of such trash onsite now. The operator should monitor the site and remove all such items regularly. If feasible the site should be secured better against unauthorized entry. The reclamation plan allows for reclamation of the entire 40-acre site after mining. There is currently enough bond to reclaim existing disturbance, which is less than 15 acres, and there is no unbonded liability at this time. However, this office must recalculate the bond again, and again must base the figures on reclamation of the whole site, since that is what the approved plan specifies. The increased bond amount will be communicated to the operator, who will have 60 days to provide the additional bond. (The operator may contact this office to discuss submitting a technical revision to reduce the maximum amount of disturbance, in order to obtain a lower bond amount.) Cont.