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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 />General Comments <br />This was a partial inspection of the Munger Canyon Mine, conducted by Dan Mathews of the DRMS Grand <br />Junction Field Office. Mine Manager Gary Isaac was contacted at the beginning of the inspection on April 17, <br />and Safety Manager Rodney Head was contacted at the conclusion of the mine site inspection, but I was not <br />accompanied during the field inspection. Weather was cloudy and cool; ground conditions were moist to muddy <br />from recent precipitation. East Salt Creek was flowing relatively high and roily from snowmelt runoff. Munger <br />Creek had a trickle of flow in the upper reaches of the North Fork, but there was no flow on the main stem of <br />Munger. Primary focus of the inspection was the reclaimed light use road associated with the emergency drill <br />site location in the adjacent McClane Canyon Mine permit area, drilled in December 2005. The road segment <br />within the Munger permit area forks off the portal access road, crosses Munger Creek, and runs along the North <br />Fork of Munger Creek for approximately'/: mile, up to the McClane Canyon Mine permit boundary. The Munger <br />section of road was reclaimed in April 2006. Please refer to the McClane Canyon Mine inspection report dated <br />April 19, 2007, for comments on the reclaimed road segment and reclaimed drill pad area within the McClane <br />permit area. The coal waste disposal area and haul road between waste disposal and Highway 139 was also <br />inspected, but the portal area and portal access road was not inspected. The Loma loadout was briefly <br />inspected following completion of the mine site inspection. <br />Gary Isaac indicated that CAM had reached a settlement with #11 Resources, to allow for continued waste <br />disposal and reclamation operations at Munger through the end of September 2007, and continued access for <br />monitoring and maintenance beyond that date. <br />Support Facilities <br />The lower section of the light use road within the Munger permit area follows an old two track road along the <br />North Fork of Munger Creek. The road along the lower segment is located primarily outside of the channel, but <br />crosses the channel in several locations. Approximately 200 yards northeast of the 4~' crossing of the North <br />Fork, the road crosses a tributary side channel that enters the North Fork from the west (the 2n0 side channel <br />crossed by the road). At this point the canyon begins to narrow, with junipers becoming more prevalent along <br />the channel. This location appears to be close to the point where the road passes into the McClane Canyon <br />permit area. <br />As noted in past inspection reports, the reclamation grading was properly completed; slopes blend well into <br />adjacent terrain, surtaces were properly roughened to prepare a seedbed, stream fords were properly eliminated <br />and channel segments restored at approximate uniform grade to tie into undisturbed channel segments above <br />and below. Rock and woody debris were properly pulled back across the reclaimed road, to further minimize the <br />visual impact of the disturbance and facilitate stabilization and vegetation establishment. No areas of significant <br />erosion were observed. <br />Vegetation along most segments of the reclaimed road corridor in the Munger permit area is presently <br />dominated by annual (orbs and grasses. Initial establishment of seeded perennials will need to be assessed <br />later in the growing season. There were several areas where the noxious weed whitetop is present along <br />and adjacent to the reclaimed road. Patches of the weed are scattered along the corridor throughout its <br />entire length within the Munger permit area. The patches will need to be Sprayed within the <br />next couple weeks when the plants start flowering, to limit spread of the weed along <br />the disturbance corridor. <br />3 <br />