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MINE ID # OR PROSPEC ING INSPECTION 7ATE ~3~Q9 (Page 2) ID # ~~77" taS INSPECTOR'S INITIALSV~' This inspection was conducted in order to check compliance with State Statutes and Regulations and with the conditions of the permit. The pit was inactive at the time of the inspection. The ID sign for the pit was in order. There is, however, some confusion as to what is to be regarded as the permit area and its boundaries. The site is approved to have a permit area totaling 6.0 acres in size but the permit area defined by the boundary markers initially set up and pointed out by the permittee's representatives is much smaller. The permittee's local property, however, had recently been surveyed and a map prepared that indicates the property totals 6.17 acres more or less. If, as it appears, the original intent of the permit application was to include all the permittee's local property in the permit area, the Division is willing to accept a permit area for the pit whose boundaries coincide with those of the permittee's local property boundaries and to accept the copy of the property map supplied in the field (during this inspection) as the official map of the permit area. The boundaries of the property appear to be well defined by fences which would serve equally well as boundary markers for the permit area. This is not considered as a compliance issue at this time, but if the permittee does want the entire 6.17 acre property to be included in the permit area for this pit and the property area map recently supplied as the official map of the permit area this should be made known in writing to the Division as soon as possible. If the permit area is now to be considered conincident with the 6+ acre property and mining is intended to be extended thruout such an area, the currently posted Financial Warranty of $5,000.00 may be insufficent to complete reclamation of such disturbance. The Division will re-evaluate the adequacy of the Financial Warranty and should it be determined to be insufficent, the permittee will be notified of this and provided 60 days in which to resolve the problem. This is a compliance problem and will be included on Pane 4 of this report. There was an active and significant seep of water issuing from the base of the highwall during the Division's inspection on 9/10/98. As a result of that seep, a large area of ponded water had developed on the pit floor. This ponding of possible groundwater in the pit was identified as a compliance problem in the report of the Division's 9/10/98 inspection and the corrective action was to determine and report the source of the water and the long term relationship of the ponded water to the pit. If the water was determined to be exposed groundwater and the ponding to be a permanent occurrence, the mining and reclamation plans for the pit would have to be modified. The required report on the source of the water and the long term relationship of ponded water to the pit has not yet been supplied and remains a compliance problem. Although reduced in volume, water continues to issue from the base of the highwall. This matter remains a compliance problem and will included on Page 4 of this report. There is a overhead utility line crossing the permit area. A support for this line lies within the expanded 6.17 acre permit area and in a location where it could be adversely impacted by the mining operation. This line was illustrated on the map of the proposed permit area in the original permit application and a commitment was made by the permittee (at that time) in his adequacy response to leave an unexcavated area of 100 feet in the area of the line in order to avoid any damage by the operation. The disturbance associated with the north highwall of the pit is, in this inspector's opinion, nearing the southern limits of this 100 foot wide buffer zone. It is therefore recommended that the boundaries of the buffer/unexcavated zone be marked now, in order to ensure that the permittee's equipment