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i' • (Page 2) MINE ZD # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-79-089 INSPECTION DATE 01/22/98 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO This inspection was performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of 112 permits, and as a result of the operator's amendment application which requests to add 19.7 acres to the permit area. Apre-operation inspection was performed on this additional area. The operator was contacted about the inspection, and a time was arranged to meet at the site. The operator was present throughout the inspection. Construction Materials Rule 3.1.12 requires that the site be identified by a permit ZD sign posted at the entrance to the permit area. There was no ID sign observed, which is noted as a problem under the topic of "signs and markers" on page one of the report. The operator must post a sign and provide evidence of such posting by the date shown on the last page of this report. The permit boundary was adequately marked by fencelines, ditches, roads and pond banks. The first area inspected was the 19.7 acres to be added to the permit area through this amendment AM-02. It is presently an undisturbed, irrigated hay field. Its borders are clearly delineated on the ground, and they match the aerial photo and maps provided by the operator. There is a located survey marker at the NW corner. The north end and east side are marked by fencelines, and the south and west sides are marked by roads. There is a small irrigation lateral along the west edge of the field, adjacent to the road. The western road is asphalt. There is no fenceline through the middle of the field, as the aerial photo depicts. The operator has posted the required Notice for adding acreage to the permit area, at the NW corner of the parcel. This 19.7-acre area will be mined from the north end toward the south, through thick overburden, into the gravel. It~is proposed as three mining phases, each with different processing and stockpiling locations, due to space limitations. There isa significant volume of overburden to be stripped initially, which will then be backfilled after mining, and will also progress from north to south. The operation will expose groundwater, and the pit will be dewatered during active mining phases. No direct discharge into the Coloraod River will occur. The new pit will eventually join an old pit in the adjacent part of the permit area to the south, which is presently a pond. There were no features of concern in this new area, and no further observations made during this pre-operation portion of the inspection. The rest of the inspection was to view the features in the affected areas of the existing permit. Immediately west of the new area to be added is a scale and scalehouse, accessible from the asphalt road. These items lie within a two-tenth acre portion of the permit. The scales are set in earthen and concrete fill, and the house is metal and portable. The scale is used by the adjacent landowner for his stone business ("Mesa Rock"), and possibly by others for agricultural purposes. The scales are presently to be included in the bond, and their removal is part of the reclamation plan. The field to the west of the new amendment area is not part of the permit. Likewise, the stone business located to the southwest of the amendment area is excluded from the permit. In the area south of the amendment area is the pond mentioned above. Its banks are roughly 3:1 in gradient, exhibit soil and cobbles on the surface, minor erosion or cutting due to wave action, and abundant woody vegetation. This existing pond will not be expanded to the west. Immediately west of this pond and south of the stone business is an area previously used as a staging or processing area by the operator. It extends south to a drain ditch easement and the banks of the river. It has not been excavated, but most of it has been disturbed. Its surface is rough and weedy (annual weeds, kochia mostly), and shows a thin layer of gravel over much of it. It may be used in the future, though it will probably not