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Back~rpy_nd <br />The Fruita No. 1 and No. 2 Coal Mine is an abandoned undergound coal mining site located <br />on privately owned surface on the southern face of the Bookcliffs, approximately 12 miles north <br />of Fruita, in northern Mesa County. The site is accessed by Mesa County Road 18. When the <br />mine was operational in the late 1970's, privately owned coal was mined from the upper, Cameo <br />Seam (No. 1 Mine), and the lower, Anchor Seam (No. 2 Mine). A total of 12 acres were <br />disturbed at the mine site, including two portal bench/face-up areas, access road, sediment pond, <br />coal storage area and associated facilities. There has been no coal production from the No. 1 <br />Portal since 1978, and no production from the No. 2 Portal since 1980. The No. 1 Mine was <br />sealed in 1483, and the portal area was backfilled, graded, and seeded in 198411985. The No. <br />2 Mine portals were sealed, surface facilities were removed, and backfilling and grading of the <br />entire distufied azea was completed between 1989 and 1991. Graded areas, including the <br />reclaimed No. 2 mine, an excess spoil fill comprising the outslope of the No. 1 Mine bench, and <br />ancillary areas were hydroseeded is 1991. <br />The $36,000.00 reclamation bond for the site was forfeited by the Mined Land Reclamation <br />Board in March, 1994, following failure of the operator to abate an enforcement action issued <br />by the Division of Minerals and Geology. <br />Risks to Public Health. Safely.~and the Environment <br />A highwall remains in place above the Fruita rX1 bench, with a maximum height of approximately <br />60 feet. The Division has not pursued highwall elimination due to lack of available funds, and <br />due to questions regarding the technical feasibility of highwall elimination at the site. The <br />highwall has been in place since 1977, and shows no sign of erosion, sloughing, or instability. <br />There are no protective structures such as fences or guardrails safeguarding the high$vall, but <br />risks posed by the highwall would not appear to be inherently Beater than those posed by <br />sandstone outcrops and escarpments of similar height, which are common in the Bookcliffs in <br />the vicinity of the Mine. The nearest occupied dwelling is approximately three miles from the <br />site, and the nearest town, Fruita, is 12 miles from the site. <br />The only large earthen structure remaining on site is the spoil fill associated with the Mine 1/] <br />bench. The face of the fill is approximately 350 feet wide at its crest, and extends approximately <br />400 feet to a narrow draw at its base, with slopes ranging from 1.5:1 to 2:1, horizontal to <br />vertical. Engineering analyses have demonstrated the long term stability of the fill, and there <br />are no signs of seeps, slumps, cracking or other indications of instability. <br />All portals of the Fruita No. 1 and No. 2 have been sealed aad backfilled, and all facilities have <br />been removed, with the exception of an access road and sediment pond. The landowner has <br />requested that the Mine 1 bench and the access road to the bench remain in their current <br />configuration for his future use. The sediment pond embankment is structurally sound, and the <br />