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Assessment, Findings, and Proposed Decision <br />Background <br />The Fruita No. 1 and No. 2 Coal Mine is a revoked, underground coal mining site located on <br />privately owned surface on the southern face of the Bookcliffs, approximately 12 miles north of <br />Fruita, in northern Mesa County. The Bookcliffs, composed of alternating layers of sandstone <br />and shale, rise steeply along the northern edge of the Grand Valley. The area receives <br />approximately 8 inches of precipitation annually. Native vegetation is a mosaic of semi-desert <br />shrubland and sparse juniper woodland, with cheatgrass and other annual weedy species <br />abundant, particularly in more level areas where livestock have concentrated. Mesa County <br />Road 18 provides access to the site. <br />The mine was operational from the 1970's through 1980. Coal was mined from an upper seam, <br />the Cameo Seam via the #1 Mine portals and from the lower, Anchor seam, via the #2 Mine <br />portals. A total of 11.6 acres was disturbed, including two portal bench face-up areas, an access <br />road, and various support facilities, including a sedimentation pond. Mining commenced at the <br />site prior to enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, under a Notice of <br />Intent issued on May 31, 1977, to Coal Fuels Corporation. Two additional companies were <br />involved in subsequent operations at the site, under interim Permit 79-60/UG/C, but a permanent <br />program permit was never issued. <br />American Shield Coal Company conducted facilities demolition, partial backfilling, and <br />revegetation of portions of the site under an approved reclamation plan in 1990 and 1991. The <br />reclamation bond was forfeited in March 1994, and the Division of Minerals and Geology (the <br />Division) has used the forfeited bond to perform additional reclamation. A portion of the bond <br />was used in the spring of 1996 to roughen and reseed the steep #1 Mine bench outslope, which <br />had exhibited poor establishment of seeded vegetation. Additional bond monies were used in the <br />spring and fall of 2000, to repair erosion damage caused by a cloudburst type storm event that <br />occurred in 1998. During this project, a riprapped permanent drainage channel was constructed <br />down the outslope of the #1 Mine Bench, the access road to the #1 Mine Bench was extensively <br />roughened and seeded, and various permanent drainage improvements were implemented. The <br />project consumed most of the forfeited bond amount; $2,794.00 remain in the account. <br />Explanation of Proposed Action <br />In 2004, the Division became aware that the sediment pond spillway riser structure at the Fruita <br />No.1 and No. 2 mine was not functioning properly. Inspection of the sediment pond revealed <br />evidence of piping erosion in the immediate vicinity of the base of the vertical spillway riser. <br />Apparently, during high flow events, water was entering the buried section of the spillway culvert <br />through holes or rusted seams, below ground level. Several attempts to seal the cracks and <br />prevent the leakage were attempted, using bentonite sealant, but the efforts were not successful <br />on a long-term basis. <br />Because the site has been seeded and stabilized, with ground cover adequate to prevent <br />excessive erosion and sedimentation from the disturbed area, the functionality of the pond <br />discharge structure is not a significant environmental concern, and the Division has determined <br />that repair of the discharge structure is not warranted. <br />The Fruita Mine reclamation plan does not specify removal of the sediment pond embankment, <br />and the Division does not contemplate such removal. However, based on assessment of <br />