INSPEC10693

• Permit No: C1981017
• IBM Index Class Name: Inspection
• Doc Date: 9/10/2007
• Doc Name: Proposed Decision and Written Findings for Reduced Inspection Frequency
• From: DRMS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

I. Baclc¢round
The Coal Basin Mine is a revoked, undergound coal mine located approximately four miles west
of Redstone, Colorado in Pitkin and Gunnison Counties. The former operator of the mine, Mid
Continent Resources declazed bankruptcy in 1992. Subsequently, the Colorado Mined Land
Reclamation Board revoked the permit, and forfeited the reclamation bond in 1994. As a result
of these actions, the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division) assumed the task of
completing mine reclamation. Reclamation construction began in 1995, as provided for in
Colorado Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and was substantially completed by the
end of 2001 with some maintenance work continuing through 2006.
The Coal Basin mining operation was located on the divide that sepazates the North Fork of the
Gunnison River watershed from the Crystal River watershed. Drainage from the east side of
Huntsman Ridge flows east through several tributaries into Coal Creek, the topographic basin
within which the mine facilities were located. The collective azea of the mine entries and
prepazation plant is refen•ed to locally as Coal Basin. All mine portals and surface facilities in the
basin aze located in Pitkin County and primarily within the White River National Forest, with some
interspersed private lands. The undergound workings extended to the west under Huntsman Ridge
into Gunnison County.
Mining of the Coal Basin deposits began in 1895 and continued until 1908 when production ceased
for many years. Mid-Continent Resources began producing coking coal at the Coal Basin Mine in
1956. The Coal Basin Mine consisted of five adjacent undergoand mines, a rock tunnel entry, a
prepazation plant, two coal waste piles, one development waste pile, an extensive road system and
numerous ancillary facilities. The five mines were drift mines, driven from the outcrop down-dip
through the western flank of Coal Basin and under Huntsman Ridge. The mines were
interconnected resulting in one mine complex with five entries. Coal, personnel and equipment
were brought to the surface through one bore of the rock tunnel The mine entries from north to
south were:
Coal Basin (No. 5) Mine
L.S. Wood (No. 3) Mine
Dutch Creek No. 2 Mine
Dutch Creek No. 1 Mine
Beaz Creek (No. 4) Mine
A diverse climate characterizes the Coal Basin area due to the precipitous rise in elevation. The lowest
point within the disturbed azea was the coal preparation plant at 8,000 feet, while the highest point is
along Huntsman Ridge at 11,852 feet. As a result, temperature, precipitation, and wind conditions are
quite variable throughout the disturbed area.
Coal Basin Mine Reduced Inspection Frequency September 10, 2007