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• (Page 21 • MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-77-567 INSPECTION DATE 10/12/99 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO OBSERVATIONS This inspection was performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of 1 10 Construction Materials permits. The operator was contacted about the inspection and was present throughout the inspection. The site is located immediately west of the west end of the airstrip located two miles WNW of thy: Town of Saguache, south of Hwy 114. The permit ID sign was posted at the entrance gate to the site, and the hermit boundary was adequately marked by fencelines on the east and south, and a fencepost on the northwest corner. The entrance gate on the eastern fenceline approximately marks the northeast corner of the permit area. The site has an unreclaimed pit in the east half of the permit area, with a large stockpile of pitrun in the pit. Topsoil is stockpiled on the east and south shoulders of the pit. The topsoil is covered with annual weeds. The pit still has steep highwalls, which appear to have been left at the same gradient at which this was mined. These slopes exhibit some erosion, especially on the northeast corner, where limited upland stormwater drainage is allowed to enter the pit. No water is impounded, there is no evidence of groundwater, and no stormwater or sediment leaves the site. Reclamation grading has not been commenced yet, and the slopes have not been topsoiled. These existing gradients and erosion are not considered to be problems at this time. After reclamation grading and topsoiling have been performed here, however, any continued erosion or instability may be a problem. Stability and drainage control must be assured for final reclamation to be successful. Annual weeds cover almost all disturbed surfaces of the permit area, notably along the roadw~:ys, permit margins, processing area, and topsoil piles. Native vegetation on undisturbed land consists predominantly of >cattered blue grams and rabbitbrush, and virtually no weeds. These annual weeds are not regarded as a problem at this time, since revegetation for final reclamation has not yet occurred, and the existing weeds are not noxious weeds. The original permit application includes a statement in the Exhibit D proposed reclamation plan whi~~h suggests that the site will best revegetate itself by the invasion of volunteer native species. In the onsite discussion during this inspection it was the operator's understanding that this was still the extent of the required revegetation. This inspector later found copies of permit adequacy correspondence which reflects that the operator was intact required to actively perform the revegetation seeding of the area, with a recommended seed mix provided by DMG. These above-mentioned copies are included with the operator's copy of this report. The operator stated that with the slow rate of removal of the stockpiled pitrun, it may be years befom the site is ready for final reclamation. It might be of some value, though, for some of the reclamation tasks to be started soon, such as pit sloping, topsoiling and seeding of portions of the area, and annual weed control. The file states that slopes will be 3:1 or gentler, and the south-facing slopes 5:1 or gentler. There is a small pile of old asphalt waste northwest of the pit. This pile has a low stable configuration, and was capped several years ago by the operator as a corrective action to a problem. The cap material appears to be largely topsoil material with a bit of gravel and asphalt mixed in. There is a sparce stand of perennial grasses growinl7 on it now. It might not require additional seeding for final reclamation. A gravel surface exists on about a half acre just west of the asphalt pile, within the permit area. This appears to be the former processing area named in the application. It is level, and (given its age) presumably still has its native topsoil in place. It would possibly benefit from a light discing prior to seeding. No map has been submitted with an annual report for the last seven years or more, and reported activity is virtually zero. After any material is removed or reclamation activities are started, the operator should provide an updated map which depicts the locations of these activities, as required. There were no other items noted, and no problems at this site. For all questions or responses to this report, please contact this inspector at the following address or phone: 701 Camino del Rio, Room 125, Durango CO 81301; tel 970!247-5193