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West Elk Mine <br />• • Location 12 -located on friable sandstones of the Barren Member of the Mesaverde <br />Formation above the middle part of longwall panel 13, in NE'/a, Section 29. <br />• Location 10 -located in sandstones of the Barren Member above longwall panel 13, about <br />2,000 feet east of location 12 in E'/~, Section 27. <br />Within the Box Canyon mining area all cracks observed were deemed to have been caused by <br />mass-gravity movement (lateral spreading along ridges) or by the desiccation process (no longwall <br />mining had occurred in this area at the last time the area was visited). These features were <br />observed above projected longwall mining panels 18-22 in Section 14 and 23, T 13 S, R 90 W, <br />(See Map 67 and Annual Subsidence Reports for general locations of historical subsidence <br />cracks). <br />Given the long and extensive history of mining in the area, it is surprising the small number of <br />subsidence related features that have been identified. It cannot be proved that these represent <br />the only cracks associated with the mine, but given the regular survey activity, inspection of the <br />subsidence profiles, and seasonal landowner, hunter, and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) personnel <br />activity, additional cracks would have been noted if they existed. This lack of evidence of surface <br />cracking would lend strong validation to the premise that longwall mining in the B-Seam has had <br />minimal surface impacts at West Elk Mine. <br />Landslides <br />It could be expected that the changes in stress and strain of the neaz-surface strata and possible neaz- <br />M surface fractures associated with the predicted subsidence could reactivate or initiate landslides. <br />The landslides listed below aze all naturally occurring features, which become unstable during <br />periods of increase precipitation. A review of aerial photographs that were taken in 1963 show that <br />the slides listed below were more stable at that time than they are now. Mr. Dutuud observed that <br />many of the existing landslides, including the landslides north and south of Minnesota Reservoir <br />became unstable and moved during the period of high precipitation in the mid 1980s. The <br />landslides on the southeast side of West Flatiron and on the west side of Deep Creek in the Apache <br />Rocks area appeaz to have been unaffected by longwall mining beneath the azeas. It therefore <br />appears appazent that wet seasons affect landslides more than does longwall mining. During very <br />wet periods, however, landslides that aze already unstable may locally be triggered by mine <br />subsidence. <br />Presently, there aze four known locations within the permit azea where the reactivation of a landslide <br />could be potentially linked to past or current mining. The first azea, in Lone Pine Gulch (Section 20, <br />T13S, R90W, 6~' P.M.), contains numerous old landslide features, including steep, hummocky <br />topography with many smaller surficial slumps. Cracking and slumping occurred on one section of a <br />jeep trail in this azea in early October 1994. The cracks appeared during mining of the SNW longwall <br />panel in the B-Seam. Location of the cracks coincides with the boundary of eazlier F-Seam room-and- <br />pillar panels. The second area, discussed previously, is above the 8NW longwall panel. This landslide <br />activity, which could not be definitively linked to longwall mining, is described in considerable detail <br />in CDMG's inspection report (CDMG 1996). The third azea is above the 9NW longwall panel. <br />Another known landslide area is south of Highway 133 near Box Canyon within the Sox Canyon <br />Permit revision area. These landslides are outside the projected longwall mining subsidence effects <br />(i.e., 16 degree angle of draw) by more than 600 feet as described in Exhibit 60C and 60D. <br />2, 05-t 11 RevisedJwte 1005 PRIO, Rev. March 2006; Rev. Apri12006 PRIO; May 2006 PRIO <br />