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s 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. This was a complete inspection of the Sanborn Creek Mine conducted by Tony Waldron of the Division along with Tom Anderson of Oxbow Carbon and Mineral, Inc. The mine is producing coal and is permitted to mine 1.3 million tons per year and surface handle 1.6 million tons per year. The mine is in the process of going through a succession of operator and transfer of permit due to some reorganization that has occurred within the Oxbow Carbon Group. The current operator is Pacific Basin Resources, a Division of Oxbow Carbon and Minerals. After the transfer is complete, Pacific Basin will no longer exist and the permittee and operator will be Oxbow Carbon and Minerals, Inc. The inspection began at the new coal stockpile area which is being used regularly. The topsoil which was salvaged during this expansion was added to the existing Elk Creek topsoil stockpile and was seeded recently. The powder magazine SAE's were inspected and were in good working order. A rodent had torn up one of the silt fences and the operator placed a wire screen over the silt fabric which appears to be deterring the rodents as no additional damage has occurred to date. The inspection continued at the refuse disposal area. Some of the refuse was used as a base for the new coal stockpile and where this material was removed the 100-year diversion needed to be moved back down to the refuse pile/native slope interface. The operator agreed and indicated that this would be forwarded to the surface foreman for completion. The inspection continued at the east yard area where the east yard sediment pond was dry and the mine water pond was receiving and discharging clear water. No field measurements for Ec or pH were conducted. Several straw bales have been replaced at the various drop inlets and culvert inlets in the east yard area. The substation ~ 3 pond was dry and stable. The topsoil stockpile is exhibiting good vegetative cover and the diversion ditch is also starting to become vegetated. The operator treated this area for Russian knapweed last fall and the results were very encouraging, however, some additional areas were discovered where the knapweed has started to establish and these areas will need to be treated also. The DMG inspector was planning to meet with the Gunnison County Weed Inspector after this inspection and determine if the county would be conducting spraying in this area soon. The weed inspector indicated that they would spray only the right-of-way for the old state highway 133 and that Oxbow would be responsible to