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<br />III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE <br />Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made <br />during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection <br />and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. <br />General Comments <br />This was a complete quarterly inspection of the McClane Canyon Mine, conducted by Dan Mathews of <br />the DMG Grand Junction Field Office. Mine Manager Walter Whitledge was contacted at the beginning <br />and the conclusion of the inspection, but he did not accompany during the field inspection. Office <br />records were checked following completion of the field inspection. Weather was clear and mild. Ground <br />conditions in the office area and sediment pond/stockpile area were moist from precipitation on <br />Wednesday. Conditions were very muddy in the mine bench and coat stockpile area. Coal was being <br />conveyed out of the mine and loaded onto trucks for transport to market. <br />The DMG permit was renewed just this week (RN-5). The renewal had been delayed due to right of entry <br />issues that had held up the transfer of the permit from Lodestar Energy Inc. (LEI) to Central Appalachia <br />Mining, LLC (CAM). <br />Availability of Records <br />Required records were on file and up-to-date (through the 4`" quarter 2004) in the mine office. A copy of <br />the recently renewed permit document will need to be placed on file in the "Available Records Book", <br />upon receipt. <br />Signs and Markers <br />The new Permit I.D. sign identifying Central Appalachia Mining, LLC as permittee, was recently installed <br />at the mine entrance gate. <br />Roads <br />The haul road was generally in good condition. Due to relatively frequent snows and rains this winter, <br />and the seasonal pattern of freezing and thawing, maintenance of the road surface and associated <br />ditches and culverts is an on-going task. Road ditches and culverts were functional, with adequate <br />capacity. <br />All of the road maintenance tasks listed in the January inspection report had been properly completed. <br />The operator reported that the power company required vehicular access on a recurring basis to the <br />metered power pole located across the haul road from the sediment pond. There is no disturbance <br />specified in the permit application for this location other than the power pole itself. Submittal of a minor <br />revision, providing for an appnipriate light use road to accommodate this use with minimal impact, is <br />requested. <br />Hydrologic Balance <br />There was flow in East Salt Creek, but not in McClane Creek, at the time of the inspection. <br />The rock fall that had impacted Culvert "F", on the cut slope above the shop building, had not yet been <br />addressed, due to the continuing muddy soil conditions on the steep slope. Several large rocks fell <br />directly on the culvert inlet, which is now smashed and buried. The culvert conveys drainage from a <br />small undisturbed watershed, and the sediment pond was originally designed to treat flow generated from <br />3 <br />