REV02612 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actioris taken during the inspection and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. with Trapper's conclusion that the monitoring shows that the slump area is stable. in the West Buzzard drainage, several settling cracks were observed in the lower, relatively flat, northern section. They did not appear to be associated with any mass movement of backfilled material, however. Finally, no highwall remnants were visible on any of the reclaimed land. All of the livestock ponds observed on the reclaimed land appeared to be functional and stable. The open channel spillways were designed and constructed so that water would be retained only in the excavated portion of the ponds. The outfalls of the spillways had riprap and showed no signs of erosion. Trapper personnel inspect these livestock ponds on a quarterly basis, and record the presence or lack of water in each one. Livestock ponds which consistently do not have water in them are taken out. Most of the reclaimed slopes and drainages showed no signs of erosion. However, there was some erosional gullying in the eastern sub drainage of No.Name drainage. On the upper slopes of eastern No Name, there were several gullies which were six inches to one foot deep. In the lower drainage channel, several of the gullies were from two to four feet deep. There were several recently repaired gullies in the upper eastern sub drainage of No Name and in the middle portion of West Buzzard. According to the operator, there has not been a significant precipitation event that would have tested the repair work. No problems were observed with the erosion control rock check structures on the reclaimed land. They are in place and appear to be working in the retention of sediment. The general character of the reclaimed slopes and drainageways compares favorably with the surrounding terrain. Post-mine drainage patterns generally have been fashioned after the original drainage patterns. Where there has been a minor divergence from the original drainage flow in side drainages, such as in the West Buzzard drainage, the somewhat increased drainage density enhances wildlife use. The reclaimed land throughout the mine site blends well at the transition zone between disturbed and undisturbed land. The sediment control system for the mine site was functioning normally during the inspection. The Trapper Mine had been the subject of a surface hydrology special focus inspection on September 3 and 4 of this year. The sedimentation ponds were found to be functioning properly. Examination of the NPDES permit 3