Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Background <br /> <br />The Trinidad Basin Mine is a revoked, surface coal mining site located 6 miles west of I-25 in <br />Delagua Canyon in Las Animas County. When it was operational, it mined privately owned <br />coal on privately owned surface. TBM had difficulties producing coal economically and was <br />forced to reclaim the site. The majority of the reclamation was completed in 1985. After <br />reclamation, numerous enforcement actions resulted and eventually resulted in the forfeiture of <br />the permit by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board in April of 1993. $132,280.00 in <br />bond money was forfeited to the Mined Land Reclamation Division to complete reclamation at <br />the site. As of August 11, 1998, the amount of bond held by DMG for reclamation at the site <br />is $39,085.00. <br />Review of Two Years of Inspections Reports <br />Review.of the written site inspection reports since January of 1996 document final completion <br />of the reclamation work planned and bid in 1995. Following that work, sedimentation in pond <br />15-P1 and the main feeder ditch to that pond are the main issues identified via site inspections. <br />Downcutting along the road leading south through the site is also noted. Purposeful breaching <br />of an upland diversion ditch to allow restoration of natural drainage, and cutoff of selected <br />pond risers is also noted. <br />Risks to Public Health, Safety, and the Environment <br />Twelve sediment ponds were removed at this site during reclamation. Six ponds, 15-P1, 15 <br />P2, 22-P17, 15-P19, 15-P12, and 22-P9 were approved to remain as permanent stock water <br />ponds. 22-P6, 22-P5, and 22-P10 were left to allow access across the embankments related to <br />a permanent road. The four of five remaining ponds, 15-P20, 15-P8, 15-P1 1, and 22-P4 were <br />approved as permanent as a result of technical revision #9 (TR-9) to remain at the site to serve <br />as erosion control structures. Pond 15-P1 was reclaimed in 1995. Of all remaining ponds, <br />only one, 15-P1, is in need of additional repair or modification. None of the ponds pose any <br />risk to the public or the environment. Any failure of a pond embankment would pose a <br />minimal risk to the public due to the remote location of the site and the small size of the ponds. <br />Failure of the embankment of pond 15-P20, 15-P1, 15-P1 1, IS-P12, or 15-P19 could cause <br />minor flooding or damage to the county road, but due to the small size of the ponds, it would <br />not be significant. Generally, this county road is infrequently traveled and used primarily for <br />local residents who are few in number. The site as it exists today poses no known threats to the <br />public or the environment. <br />Sediment and Erosion Control Function <br />