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Colowyo C-1981-019 7 August 2006 Pg 6/6 Ezcess Spoil: -The reclaimed portions of the West Pit spoil pile were well vegetated and appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. Runoff from this portion of the pile goes into the West Pit pond. No erosional problems were noted of the pile at the time of the inspection. The upper portion of the pile is truck-dumped spoil. This part of the pile appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. The reclamation plan calls for the top 75 feet of this pile to be hauled to the West Pit to achieve AOC. This is being further addressed in Technical Revision 63. Apart of the unreclaimed upper portion of the pile is being used as a storage and work area for mainly the electric cable for the draglines and shovels. The operator indicated that they would begin removing the upper portion of the pile this summer and complete some of the West Pit reclamation (north edge of the West Pit). - Streeter fill was well vegetated and appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the fill. This pile has gone through a Phase II bond release. The operator has submitted Technical Revision 64 to terminate quarterly inspections for this pile. The Division has sent out a preliminary adequacy letter for TR-64. The Streeter pond below, however, still receives runoff from disturbed areas, so it must remain. -The Section 16 excess spoil fill was well vegetated and stable at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the pile. This pile has gone through a Phase II bond release. The operator has submitted Technical Revision 64 to terminate quarterly inspections for this pile. The Division has sent out a preliminary adequacy letter for TR-64. The Section i b Pond below the till still receives disturbed area runoff and will remain. Highwall Miner: - ICG has mobilized the highwall miner to the North Taylor D Pit area of the Colowyo Mine (in Section 4). They were setting up and hoped to be operating very soon. On 8 August 2006 they had moved the highwall miner to the area of the first hole (D-92, which is right at the Tri-State power line buffer). Coal from the highwall miner will be stockpiled in the horseshoe portion of the pit behind the highwall miner. This may cause some problems for Colowyo in removing the coal, as there is little room in the pit and the addition of haul trucks and a loader would really crowd the area. The water that is being pumped out of the pit is being stored at the top of the Section 4 Pit area. Colowyo has a temporary water-horse set up to use the water on roads and for ICG's operation. Since the highwall miner was not operating, we were able to take an extensive tour on the afternoon of 7 August 2006 following our MSHA required safety training. Overall, the mining operations and reclamation at the Colowyo Mine are being conducted in accordance with the approved plans contained within the PAP. The operation is doing a good job ensuring compliance with the Rules.