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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 <br />inspection and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. <br />This was a partial inspection conducted by Tom Kaldenbach of the Division of Minerals <br />and Geology. Scott Atwood represented the operator during the inspection. <br />Most of the snow cover has melted from the site. <br />The longwall is active in panel 13 Right underneath Fish Creek. <br />Hydrologic Balance <br />Sediment Control Ponds -Ponds were free of ice. Pond B was discharging an estimated 50 <br />gpm of clear water through its flume (outfall 003, CDPS permit CO-0027154). The flume <br />was in good shape. The water levels in Ponds C and G were a few feet below the lowest <br />holes in the standpipes of their primary spillways. The standpipe and v-notch weir of <br />pond G was in good repair. Embankments and emergency spillways of the Ponds B, C, and G <br />were in good condition. <br />Mine Pumping. Neither of the two sites (115 and 109) were being pumped. <br />Stream Sampling Procedure - In the morning on the day of the inspection I measured the <br />conductivity of stream water at seven locations outside the permit area in Trout Creek <br />and the Yampa River. The purpose of the measurements was to identify any cumulative <br />impacts of mining on Trout Creek. All the measurements were made within a two-hour <br />period in order to provide a "snapshot" of impacts occurring in the watershed at that <br />time. I measured the conductivity, temperature, and pH of each sample. I collected the <br />samples at bridges on county roads by dropping a bucket on a rope into the stream. <br />Results of Sampling - All pH values were near 8.0. Conductivity values ranged from 500 <br />to 700 mmhos/cm in Trout Creek downstream from mining. These conductivity values <br />indicate the coal mines in the Trout Creek watershed were not causing the stream's water <br />to exceed the Division's 1,000 mmhos/cm material damage suspect level for irrigation <br />water in northwest Colorado. The conductivity values of the samples are shown on the map <br />below. <br />3 <br />