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Mountain Coal Company <br />West Elk Mine <br />Poet Office Sox 591 <br />somemet, Cokxndo 81434 <br />Tekphaw 970 979-5015 <br />Fex 970 928-5595 <br /> <br />F tli 101997 <br />February 7, 1997 <br />Mr. Michael Boulay <br />Colorado Division of l~tmerals and Geology <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br /> <br />RE: Technical Revision No. 79; West Elk Mine; Permit No. C-80-007 <br />Dear Mr. Boulay: <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />sss <br />~` <br />Mountain Coal Company (MCC) requests a technical revision to the West Elk Mine permit for <br />the construction of a new coal waste rock pile (known as the Refuse Pile Expansion (RPE) azea), <br />new topsoil and subsoil stockpiles (known as the North Soil Storage area), and to widen the mine <br />entrance. Please find enclosed text and drawings to support this request. <br />Refuse Pile Expansion (RPE) <br />As it is expected that the Lower Refuse Pile (LRP) will reach its maximum capacity in mid-1997, <br />and given the projected amount of coal refuse that will be produced, MCC had to consider the <br />design and construction of an additional coal waste rock disposal area. Although, MCC currently <br />has a disposal area known as the Upper Refuse Pile included in the permit, it was determined for a <br />number or reasons that this area would not be an acceptable site at this time. MCC has designed <br />a 20-acre site to the east of the LRP and east of Sylvester Gulch as a new coal waste rock <br />disposal area. The RPE has been designed in four construction phases, with Phase 1 consisting of <br />four subphases. After subsoil and topsoil are removed from the Phase 1 area, some of this area <br />will be over excavated to recover a deposit of gravelly material which will be utilized as fill for the <br />roads and/or shaft site of the Sylvester Gulch Facilities Area (PR#07). This over excavation will <br />also allow for additional capacity of coal refuse. Design details of the RPE, associated structures <br />(sediment pond, ditches, culverts, underdrain, haul road, etc.), and baseline data are contained <br />within a new exhibit, Exhibit 70, which upon final approval will be added to Volume l0A of <br />MCC's permit. <br />MCC has incorporated several of the recommendations provided by the Division during two <br />different (March 11, 1996 and November 26, 1996) pre-application meetings regazding the design <br />of the RPE. These include, but are not limited to: <br />•An additional stability analysis to include State Highway 133 and the North Soil Storage area <br />-Figure K-1, Appendix K <br />