INSPEC17049

• Permit No: C1980007
• IBM Index Class Name: Inspection
• Doc Date: 9/21/2001
• Doc Name: COAL INSPECTION REPORT
• Inspection Date: 9/18/2001
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE
This was a partial inspection of the West Elk Mine conducted by Jim Burnell of CDMG on
Tuesday, September 18, 2001. The inspection was accompanied by Henry Barbe of
Mountain Coal Company. The weather was warm and partly cloudy. Active mining is going
on, although the minesite itself was relatively quiet. Active drilling and reclamation was
occurring at the high elevations south of the mine facilities. Contractors were in the field
conducting surveys for archaeological and T&E species for upcoming field drilling programs
for panels 15, 16 and 17 (in the north 1/2 of Sec. 35, the NE 1/4 of sec. 34 and the SE 14 of
sec 28. The longwall has been proceeded slowly because of the methane released into the
mine. MCC has been loading approximately one train per day. Public notice will be
published Wednesday, 19 September, by both MCC and the USFS for public comment of
an environmental assessment of the surface above panel 15. The public comment period
will be thirty days from that publication
At the Apache Rocks area, site of the area disturbed to allow for fighting a mine fire
underground, the last topsoil was being spread. The road to the Apache Rocks area was
muddy, but generally in good shape. The pump sites have been reclaimed and grass
growth has started. The G-pad shows outstanding emergence of grass, but there is also a
great deal of scrub oak emerging, apparently from rootstock. That area was seeded on July
28 of this year.
The roads leading to pads 45 and 2-5-45 have been completely regraded, seeded, fertilized
and mulched. The earthwork is excellent. Silt fence has been installed at the bottom of the
slopes of the reseeded areas. Rebar with a brass cap at the top will be placed to mark the
location of each of the drillholes.
At current drillsite 14-06, site of a gob vent borehole, has been completed. Drilling was
done. The mudpits still have not been reclaimed. A topsoil pile sits beside the site and is
complete with siltfence.
The RAV-10 site, where the first gob vent boreholes were installed, still has a methane vent
site and one ready to go online for panel 15. The mudpits that were huge at the time of their
operation, have been completely reclaimed -dried, regraded, topsoiled, seeded, fertilized,
and mulched.
Drillsite BBB is an exploration hole into the B-seam near the river. The site is down-gradient
of the active mine and the drillhole, cored for geologic and operational information, will be
converted to a monitoring well to monitor the B-seam downgradient of mining. No methane
was encountered in the hole, a very surprising discovery given that two other drillholes into
the B-seam within a mile of this site, contained large amounts of methane.
The shotcreted ditches near the facilities area are all in need of cleaning. Apparently the
rains of the last several days deposited sediment in these ditches.
At the Shaft 3 area, the staff was setting up a 4'" vent assembly for the horizontal vent
system within the mine. These will probably not be housed in a building (as per MR-276) but
rather a temporary shelter.
A large number of aspen are coming up all over the slope beside the Shaft 3 SAE. Some