INSPEC16381

• Permit No: C1981008
• IBM Index Class Name: Inspection
• Doc Name: Inspection Report
• Inspection Date: 6/19/1997
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE
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.
pit, and dozed into separate temporary stockpiles at the time of
the inspection. The salvaged soil will be hauled back to graded
spoil and replaced in separate lifts later this fall.
At Mine 2, a 37.28 ac. reclaimed rangeland parcel was observed.
The site was originally seeded with an annual grain cover crop and
the permanent mix in the spring of 1994 and was irrigated through
the 1996 growing season. The site has not been irrigated this year
and will not be irrigated in the future. As such, the stand is in
a state of transition, and it would be expected that species
composition will shift toward dominance by lower productivity, more
drought tolerant species over the next several years, as the plant
community adjusts to the natural precipitation regime. Smooth
brome is currently the visually dominant species in the stand, and
it will likely be replaced to a significant extent by more drought '
tolerant species such as western wheatgrass, intermediate
wheatgrass, and Russian wildrye. The only weedy species which is
relatively abundant is buckhorn plantain, which would be expected
to decrease under dryland conditions. Some scattered whitetop weed
is present in the stand, although not abundant, and there are no
defined "patches" of whitetop. The parcel should be carefully
observed by the operator and DMG over the next few growing seasons,
in order to document changes in species composition, and any
increase or invasion by undesirable species.
Other reclaimed areas observed at Mine 2 were irrigated pasture
areas seeded in 1994 and 1996. Both areas supported productive
stands of pasture grasses and legumes including orchardgrass,
smooth brome, timothy, bird's foot trefoil, and alsike clover, with
few weedy species present.
At Mine 1, the "Rice Tract" was observed. The currently approved
postmine land use for the parcel is dryland pasture. It was
apparently dryland seeded several times in the past, but seedings
were unsuccessful. It was most recently reseeded in the spring of
1996, and has been irrigated in both 1996 and 1997. A productive
stand of pasture grasses with some alfalfa has been established.
The dominant species is smooth brome, with lesser amounts of
pubescent wheatgrass and crested wheatgrass. A few small patches
of Russian knapweed were observed within the revegetated stand,
with more extensive patches along the county road adjacent to the
parcel. Scattered patches of annual mustard were also observed
within the parcel. The operator indicated that, as typically the
case for vegetation establishment, approximately 18 to 24 inches of
irrigation water were applied the first growing season, and would