INSPEC37313

• Permit No: C1981017
• IBM Index Class Name: Inspection
• Doc Name: Inspection Report
• Inspection Date: 7/26/2007
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE
Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made
during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection
and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action.
This was a complete inspection of the reclaimed Coal Basin Mine permit revocation site, conducted by
Steve Renner, Dan Mathews and Sandy Brown of the DRMS. Weather was clear in the mornings
clouding up in the afternoon of each day with some light rain. The purpose of the inspection was to
document field conditions for establishing a reduced inspection frequency according to rule Rule
5.02.2(8)(a) of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act, Section 34-33-101, et seq., C.R.S.,
and the regulations promulgated thereunder. A corresponding report prepazed by Steve Renner on
August 24, 2007 summarizes the reclamation progress at this minesite.
The Coal Basin Mine is a formerly permitted mining operation. The operator of the mine, Mid
Continent Resources declazed bankruptcy in 1992. Mid-Continent Resources, Inc. (MCR) held the
mining and reclamation permit (No. C081-017) to operate the Coal Basin Mine located west of Redstone
in Pitkin County. Subsequently, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board forfeited the operating
permit, and revoked the reclamation bond in 1993. As a result of these actions, DRMS assumed the
task of accomplishing reclamation of the site in 1994, as provided for in Colorado Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act.
The Coal Basin Mine consisted of five separate underground mines, a rock tunnel entry, a prepazation
plant, two coal waste piles, one development rock waste pile, an extensive road system and numerous
ancillary facilities. The Division started reclamation in the summer of 1994 and completed all major
reclamation projects in 2001. Since then continuing maintenance activities have been and continue to be
conducted as funding when funding is available.
The Coal Basin Mines aze in a geologically active area at high elevations. Coal Basin is composed
primarily of highly erosive shales characterized by erratic, deeply eroded terrain with steep slopes. The
vertical rise ranges from approximately 8,000 feet at the coal wash plant/warehouse azea to 10,000 feet at
the portal azeas. This combination of erosive geology, steep slopes and high altitudes created challenging
mining and reclamation conditions.
The lower azeas are privately owned. This includes the wazehouse, the rock tunnel, the rock tunnel waste
pile, the wash plant and the coal stockpile azeas. The Division's reclamation obligations were terminated
on the private lands in 2002 in accordance with a court ordered settlement agreement. (See S. Renner
summary for details).
All sediment ponds at the mine site, except the pond 106 system on the private lands, have been converted
into maintenance free water retention structures, providing benefits to wildlife and other area values.
Reclamation entailed removal of the CMP dischazge structures, relaxing the embankment cut created by
CMP removal, and lining of the excavation with rock rip rap, planting of all areas at the water line
elevation with a wetlands seed mixture and willows, and planting areas above the water line with an
appropriate upland seed mixture. The resulting `basins' effectively helped to control erosion from the
reclaimed areas. The Pond 016 system was reclaimed by the private landowner.