INSPEC23827

• Permit No: C1982057
• IBM Index Class Name: Inspection
• Doc Name: Inspection Report
• Inspection Date: 7/30/2003
• 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.
Pond 016 was discharging clear water. The Pond 016 inlet channel extending up to the
new 016A emergency spillway was eroded by heavy flows last year, and repairs have not
yet been completed. Riprap installation needs to be completed in conjunction with 016A
emergency spillway riprap installation, following completion of the rock drain installation in
the monitoring well trench.
Pond 017 primary spillway trash rack and oil boom had been installed. The pond was full of
clear water, with a trickle of discharge. The monitoring weir had not yet been installed in
the outflow channel below the primary discharge. The P.E. construction certification was
not on file at the mine office. Bob Shevling indicated that the certification had been
completed, but had been sent to Montgomery Watson consultants for inclusion in the PR-4
application document currently being prepared. The Pond 017 construction certification is
to be submitted promptly to the Division.
Topsoil
Topsoil stripping operations were not comprehensively assessed, but appeared to have been
completed in accordance with applicable requirements in the Pond 017 drainage basin.
Large scale topsoil replacement operations scheduled for approximately 57 acres in the "D"
pit area and over 200 acres in the "A" pit area during 2003 have not yet been initiated.
It was noted that the south facing slope of the topsoil stockpile located immediately north
of Sediment Pond 005 was dominated by annual weeds and essentially devoid of perennial
vegetation. Unless the stockpile is used up by "D" Pit reclamation this year, the slope
should be disked and reseeded with the stabilization seedmix.
Revegetation
Weed Control
The weed control plan of the approved permit includes commitments to spring spraying of a
variety of noxious weed species, along with both spring and fall spraying of Canada thistle.
The plan indicates that spraying would be accomplished using trailer-mounted and backpack
sprayers. The plan further states that qualitative monitoring will be conducted annually in
order to evaluate progress being made towards control of identified noxious weed areas and
indicates that the evaluation would be included in the Annual Reclamation Report (ARR)
each year. The plan also states that a record will be maintained of areas sprayed, type of
treatment and date of treatment, and that the information would be included in the Annual
Reclamation Report each year.
The 2002 ARR includes a paragraph discussion indicating that Canada thistle patches along
the mine entrance road, and areas near Pond 005, Pond 006, and Pond 009 were sprayed
during 2002. Canada thistle patches continue to exist in these locations, along with
houndstongue, various biennial thistles, and scattered other noxious species. Most of these