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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE Elk Creek C-1981-022 Pg 1/3 8 November 2007 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 partial inspection of the Elk Creek and Sanborn Creek Mines conducted on 8 November 2007 by Jim Stark of CDRMS. Jim Kiger of Oxbow Mining, LLC was in Denver for a CMA meeting so no one accompanied me on the inspection. The mine was producing coal at the time of the inspection and the Coal stockpile was full. The weather was cool and overcast and the ground was dry. Signs and Markers: -The mine ID sign was in place at both the main entrance at the train loadout and the back entrance along old Highway 133. The signs contained all of the required information. The sign was in place at the West Valley Fill and the topsoil stockpile sign was in place at the topsoil pile for the fill. Permit boundary and disturbed boundary markers were also in place as required. Roads: -The mine access road is a paved road. The road is well maintained and in good condition. - The road to the Elk Creek portals and facilities area was dry and appeared to be stable and well maintained at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the road at the time of the inspection. - The haul road to the West Valley Fill was dry and it appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. There was no rutting or erosional problems noted on the road at the time of the inspection. The operator was using the haul road to the West Valley and II-West fills to work on connecting pieces of plastic pipe together before moving them underground. These activities were not causing any problems on the road. - The haul road to the II-West valley fill was well maintained and appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the road. - The East Yard Haul Road was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. This road is used for accessing the mine when a train is being loaded and for general mine storage. No erosional problems were noted on the road at the time of the inspection. Hydrologic Balance: - Pond A contained water approximately one foot below the top of the discharge pipe but was not discharging at the time of the inspection. The pond is an incised pond and was Cleaned in late summer. The pond was stable at the time of the inspection. - Pond B contained water approximately three feet below the emergency spillway at the time of the inspection but was not discharging (discharge is through a gated valve below the water levell. The embankment was well vegetated and appeared to be stable. No erosional problems were noted on the pond embankment. The emergency spillway was stable at the time of the inspection. - Pond C is a concrete dam below the West Valley Fill. The dam appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. The pond contained a small amount of water but was not discharging at the time of the inspection. - Pond 0 contained water approximately two feet below the top of the primary discharge pipe and was not discharging at the time of the inspection. The pond embankment was well vegetated and appeared to be stable at the time of the inspection. No erosional problems were noted on the pond embankment. This pond was drained and cleaned in late summer.