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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE <br />Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made <br />during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection <br />and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. <br />slopes. Slope-gradients on approximately the eastern 2/3 of the area appear to average <br />25% or less, while gradients on approximately the western 1/3 of the area appear to <br />average slightly steeper than 25%. <br />In the lower "A" Pit area, the 4:1 final slope along the west side of the 006 Gulch <br />permanent channel appears to have been largely completed. It appears that final grading is <br />being conducted to incorporate some topographic variation as appropriate. Highwall <br />reduction grading along the southern perimeter of the lower "A" Pit area is continuing. <br />Additional grading will also be required along the powerline corridor to eliminate depressions <br />in the final pit area and to better incorporate the power pole "humps" into the landscape. In <br />particular, one of the poles is precariously supported by a "pedestal" of spoil at the top of a <br />peaked spoil mound. The mound needs to be graded to provide a more stable support for <br />the pole and to establish a mare rounded stable land form to blend into the adjacent terrain. <br />Grading of the entire lower "A" Pit area is to be completed by the end of the year. <br />In the middle "A" Pit area above the powerline, final contours have been established, <br />however significant settling scarps along the highwall reduction slopes have not yet been <br />regraded, and this work will need to be completed by the end of the year. <br />The "bathtub pit" at the northern end of the ridgeline Wadge pit has still not been <br />completely backfilled. The final land form in this location will be the head of an ephemeral <br />drainage basin that drains to the east into aSage Creek tributary. Final grading is to be <br />completed by the end of the year. At present, a short segment of pit and associated spoil <br />piles remain. <br />To the south of the "bathtub pit" is a segment of the ridgeline Wadge Pit that is scheduled <br />to be backfilled and graded by the end of the year under the currently approved permit. <br />However, the operator has proposed within PR-4, currently under review, to leave this <br />segment of pit open to allow for future highwall mining operations. Because PR-4 will not <br />be approved prior to the end of the year, it will be necessary for the operator to obtain a <br />separate approval for an extended variance for this segment of pit, prior to 12/31/03. <br />Additional backfilling and grading has been conducted in the "B" Pit area, however the <br />lower end of the final "B" Pit, which includes the Pond 6Pre-settling basin, has not yet <br />been backfilled. Backfilling and grading of the "B" Pit area is to be completed by the end of <br />the year. <br />Topsoil <br />In the "D" Pit reclamation area, topsoil replacement had been completed on remaining <br />graded spoil areas with the exception of a small area of weedy spoil immediately adjacent to <br />the lower "D" Pit stock tank impoundment. Replaced soil had been seeded with the <br />exception of the approximate western 1/3 of the south facing highwall reclamation slope, <br />