Laserfiche WebLink
Elk Creek C-1981-022 <br />25 October 20~ <br />P9 2/2 <br />Hydrologic Balance (cont): - Pond E contained a very small amount of water and was not <br />discharging. The pond embankment is a concrete wall. The embankment appeared to be <br />stable at the time of the inspection. <br />- The ditches around the Hubbard Creek fan and substation were stable and appeared to be <br />functioning as designed. The clean water ditch around the site was stable and in good <br />condition. These ditches have filled in, to some extent, due to a large storm the previous <br />weekend. The rock splash pan at the end of the clean water ditch has filled in with sediment. <br />Jim Kiger indicated that these ditches were scheduled to be cleaned out. <br />- The operator was drilling a water injection hole (TR-51) at the Hubbard Creek fan site. This <br />drilling included a mud pit on the pad. The pit appeared to be constructed as designed. The <br />pit was stable and contained water approximately 1 foot below the top of the pit. <br />Backfilling and Grading: -All of the Bear Creek and Elk Creek gob vent boreholes and <br />pads have been reclaimed. The road to the Bear Creek GVB's has been reclaimed to the <br />main Bear Creek road. The road to the Elk Creek GVB's has been reclaimed to within 20 <br />feet of the hairpin turn at the start of the road. This portion of the road was left open for <br />possible future access to a historic ranch road and other possible future drilling or exploration <br />activities. <br />Processing Waste: -The West Valley fill has approximately 20 piles of refuse that need to <br />be spread and compacted. It was unclear if these were the same pile as on last month's <br />inspection or if they were new piles. Jim Kiger indicated that he would check with the surface <br />foreman to see when they would be spread and compacted. The pile was stable and there <br />was no water pooling on the surface of the pile at the time of the inspection. <br />-The 2-West pile is ready to be used however, to date, no refuse has been placed in the <br />pile. <br />Topsoil: -The Elk Creek topsoil pile was well vegetated and stable at the time of the <br />inspection. No erosional problems were noted. <br />Revegetation: The reclaimed drill pads and access roads for the Bear Creek and Elk Creek <br />gob vent boreholes have been reseeded. <br />Support Facilities: -The Hubbard Creek fan and substation pad was stable at the time of <br />the inspection. There were no erosional problems at the site. The operator was in the <br />process of drilling a water injection well into the historic Sommerset Mine workings at the <br />time of the inspection (TR-51). This was the second hole being drilled into the mine as the <br />first hole missed the workings. This hole, too, missed the workings by a couple of feet but it <br />was believed that a small charge could be dropped down the hole to blast the coal out and <br />access the workings. Once this hole is completed, a hole will be drilled into the Elk Creek <br />Mine. The site included a mud pit. See Hydrologic Balance above for details on the pit. <br />- The operator was building lamp house at the Elk Creek facilities area. The steel frame was <br />being built at the time of the inspection. <br />- All four of the pads for the Sanborn Creek GVB's were stable and in good condition at the <br />time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted at any of the sites. <br />