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October 3, 2003 National King Coal, LLC 4424 County Road 120 Hesperus, CO 81326 King Coal Mine October 2, 2003 Special focus inspection Participants: Tom Bird, National King Coal, LLC Harry Ranney, Co]orado Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) Henry Austin, Office of Surface Mining (OSM) I participated in a special focus inspection of the King Coal Mine that evaluated both offsite impacts and reclamation success of the coal mine waste/rock pile on the mine permit area. This special focus topic was selected for evaluation by thejoint DMG-OSM oversight team. Weather conditions included rain showers during the inspection, and ground conditions were wet throughout the mine site. There was no noticeable surface water runoff and the 2 sediment ponds were not discharging. The inspection found thaC no offsite impacts were occurring as a result of the ongoing coal waste/rock pile construction; and that reclamation on the completed face of the pile's first lift has met permit requirements, and the face is stable. We began the inspection by reviewing permit documentation relevant to the coal waste pile including: 1997 Waste Bank Design Summary Report (RPE Certified), 1998 TR-08 Waste Pile Redesign approval, February 2003 Permit renewal # 4 approved text regarding mine waste rock disposal and waste pile reclamation, and permit appendix 7-(1) revised in 1997. We also reviewed inspection and environmental monitoring reports including: quarterly RPE inspections and certifications, compaction testing (3/6/03 all 4 tests exceeding 90% compaction), photographs of the completed underdrain system, and NPDES outfall discharge reporting. All of the above required inspections for the waste pile through the 3"' quarter of 2003, RPE certifications, color photos of the underdrain system, and environmental monitoring requirements are in compliance with both the Colorado regulatory program rules and the approved permit requirements. RPE review and certification of the recent extension of the underdrain system occurred during the week of September 15, 2003. We inspected the waste pile and found no evidence of offsite impacts as mentioned above. The underdrain extension is now completed and covered, and the surface water runoff diversion is also completed according to design specifications. There was no water impounded anywhere on the pile and no evidence of non-coal or debris materials in the compacted waste. According to inspection participants, there was a rain event on September 9, 2003, that exceeded the 100yr. / 6 hr event.