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• • (Page 21 • MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-77-376 INSPECTION DATE 3123199 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS AJW OBSERVATIONS This was a follow-up inspection conducted by Tony Waldron of DMG along with Gary and Jane Flanders of Canyon Dolomite Company. The site is located just west of .Canon City, Colorado. The site was inspected on February 8, 1999 and two problems that had been cited from a previous inspection were unresolved. As a result, both of these items were listed as possible violation and the operator was notified by way of a Reason to Believe Letter that these possible violations existed and that they would be presented before the Mined Land Reclamation Board on March 24, 1999 unless the problems were adequately addressed prior to that date. The possible violations included failure to properly identify the mine site at the entrance and failure to clearly mark the affected area boundary along with failure to protect the hydrologic balance. Mr. Flanders contacted the office prior to this inspection and informed staff that the problems had been corrected. As a result, this inspection was scheduled to determine if the corrective actions had been completed so that the item could be withdrawn from the Board Agenda or presented as scheduled. The mine identification sign was properly posted at the mine entrance and did contain the required information. The permit boundary corners had also been marked along the lower portion of the permit area and along the west side of the area. It appears that the area has been surveyed in the past as each of the lower area markers were beside some sort of survey monument. The operator had been unable to locate a marker on the west permit boundary line and had approximated its location based on surface features. It appeared to be in the correct area according to the map included with the permit application. As there is some question about the disturbance along the west boundary, Mr. Flanders wanted to wait and install the marker nearest the affected area in the presence of an inspector. As we were sighting in off of the southwest corner, we happened to discover a survey monument which confirmed the west boundary location. Based on this line, the current disturbance is clearly east of this boundary. However, past mining removed a large portion of the toe-slope to the east and caused the area right along the west boundary line to subside and slump significantly. Asa result, the area straddling the west boundary line appears to be rather unstable. The mined out area that caused this slumpage has been reclaimed by creating gently sloping terrace benches with approximately 2H:1V outslopes and the current active area is just east of these reclaimed slopes. It appears that much of the mining that affected the boundary area occurred pre-law as this site was permitted in 1977. During that permitting, much of the existing disturbance was designated pre-law and all proposed disturbances were carefully delineated on the mine plan and reclamation plan maps. There was some overlap and some of the disturbed areas were included in the current permit, however, the area along the west permit boundary is clearly not within the current affected area. The current stability of the "slumped area" is going to remain a long-term issue. One possible solution would be to evaluate the quality of minable material available and re-mine the area if it is of a high enough quality. In doing so, it would be possible to create a reclamation plan that would stabilize the slumped area. However, some mining would have to extend beyond the west permit boundary and onto Canon City property in order to achieve a stable post-mining configuration. The operator would need to open discussions with Canon City if they want to pursue this and if that looks promising, an amendment to the permit will be required to update the mining and reclamation plan and add additional acreage if necessary. The second problem and possible violation involved the presence of a small amount of an unknown substance which had leaked from an old storage tank. This material had leaked onto the ground and was presenting a potential hazard to mix with surface water runoff which could then leave the site untreated. The operator identified the substance as diesel fuel residue which had become concentrated into a varnish type substance through volatilization. This material, along with any contaminated soil, was picked up and placed in 50 gallon drums. All of these drums were then moved to another location within the permit area where they will be sCOred until they can be picked up and disposed of in an approved facility. The operator still needs to inform our office of the final disposition of these drums when that occurs. This concluded the inspection with no additional problems observed or cited.