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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 />The revised certified "As-Built" documentation requested by the Division had not been provided by March <br />9, and as a result the NOV was issued on March 10, following the site inspection on March 9. The NOV <br />specifically cited three Seneca Coal Company documents pertinent to Pond 016 design and construction; <br />the 2001 TR-40 "As-Built" certification, the 2004 Annual Impoundment Certification Report, and the May <br />2003 PR-3 design revision. <br />The TR-40 "As-Built" was cited because it depicts a 3" de-watering orifice located 1.3 feet below the top <br />of the principal spillway riser that does not exist. During the inspection on March 9, 2005, the pond had <br />a thin slushy ice cover, and clear water was spilling over: the top of the principal spillway riser. The flow <br />rate was approximately 15 gpm, and appeared to roughly correspond to the pond inflow. Photo #1556 is <br />a view of the entire pond, with the trash rack and anti-vortex plate visible above the surface. Photo <br />#1551 is a closer view of the pond embankment, principal spillway riser with trash rack, and the <br />emergency spillway. Photo #1549 is a close-up of the principal spillway riser, with water spilling over the <br />top of the. riser, on the right side. Photo #1552 shows the discharge at the outlet end of the principal <br />spillway culvert. These photos were taken on 3/9/05, and the flow over the top of the riser indicates the <br />absence of a dewatering orifice. It has not been determined with certainty whether the orifice was <br />actually in place when the TR-40 "As-Built" was prepared and certified in September 2001. Division <br />inspection reports from November 2003, April 2004, and October 2004 contain references to Pond 016 <br />being full, with water spilling over the top of the principal spillway riser. An August 2002 report states <br />that the pond was nearly full, but not discharging. These observations would seem to indicate that there <br />was no dewatering orifice in place. Photo #1040, taken on April 29, 2004, shows the water level at the <br />top of the spillway riser. There were no references in any DMG inspection reports from September 2001 <br />to the present, of water discharging through a de-watering orifice or weep hole, and no reference to the <br />operator modifying the spillway to eliminate a de-watering orifice following PR-3 approval. <br />The 2004 Annual Impoundment Certification Report for Pond 016 was cited, because it contains a P.E. <br />certification statement affirming that the "structure has been maintained as designed and in accordance <br />with the approved plan and the applicable regulations". The operator has subsequently stated (in their <br />letter of November 30, 2004), that the 2.5 foot principal spillway riser height reduction specified in the <br />design revision had not yet been completed. The November 30 letter further indicates that the de- <br />watering orifice had been eliminated, and DMG inspection documentation referenced in the previous <br />paragraph indicates that the orifice had not been present earlier in 2004. It therefore appears that when <br />the SCC pond inspection was conducted in August 2004, and when the certification report was <br />completed in November 2004, the principal spillway was not in compliance with either the 2001 TR-40 <br />"As-Built" or the 2003 PR-3 design revision. <br />The 2003 PR-3 design revision was cited, because it is the currently approved design. Construction <br />certification attesting to construction in accordance with the PR-3 design revision, or otherwise <br />demonstrating compliance with applicable regulations has not been submitted, and the operator has <br />acknowledged that the principal spillway riser height was not reduced as specified in the approved plan. <br />5' <br />