ENFORCE20718

• Permit No: C1981041
• IBM Index Class Name: Enforcement
• Doc Date: 8/14/2006
• Doc Name: Notice of Violation Letter
• From: DRMS
• To: Snowcap Coal Company Inc.
• Violation No.: CV2006002
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY
Department of Natural Resources
13 ] 3 Sherman St., Room 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
COLORADO
D I VISION O F
RECLAMATION
MINING
- &-
SAFETY
August 14, 2006 Bill Owens
Governor
Tonya Hammond Russell George
Snowcap Coal Company, IriC. Executive Director
P.O. Box 1430 Ronald w. cat[any
Division Director
Pahsade,CO 81526 NatwalResourceTrustee
RE: Roadside North & South Portals Mine (DBMS Permit No. C-1981-041)
Notice of Violation (NOV) No. CV-2006-002
Dear Ms. Hammond:
The Division of Reclamation, Mining And Safety (DBMS) has determined that a Notice
of Violation (NOV) is warranted, based on the failure of permanent drainage structures
(100 year, 24-hour design) to convey storm runoff as designed. The locations cited are
on the CRDA-1 and RSRDA Coal Mine Waste Disposal Areas. Our determination is
based on a review of the circumstances, information, and SEDCAD modeling provided
by Jim Stover in his August 1, 2006 letter concerning the July 20, 2006 storm event that
affected portions of the Roadside Mine permit area, as well as the documentation
presented in my inspection report dated August 7, 2006.
The drainage failures resulted from an intense rain hail storm that produced a significant
quantity of precipitation in a relatively brief period of time. Based on information
provided by third parties to you and Jim Stover, the storm apparently resulted in
approximately 1.75" of precipitation in approximately I.5 hours. The 10 year, 24-hour
storm event at Roadside is 1.4"; the 100 year, 24-hour event is 2.2". We will accept the
information provided as documentation that the peak flows exceeded 10 year, 24-hour
design flows. A number of sediment and drainage control structures (ditches, culverts,
silt fences, etc.) were breached, blocked, or damaged by the storm runoff, and prompt
maintenance and repairs will be required (repairs had been completed in a nLlmber of
these locations prior to my inspection). We are not issuing an enforcement action for
failures associated with structures designed for the 10 year, 24-hour event.
The drainage structures cited in the NO V for breaches and erosion are located on or
adjacent to coal mine waste disposal sites, convey drainage on or from the surface of the
refuse disposal, and were designed to convey the flow from the l00 year, 24-hour
precipitation event. We do not find that the information provided is adequate to
document that the July 20 stone event resulted in stone flows that exceeded peak flows
associated with the 100 year, 24-hour precipitation event. A 100 year storm is a
decidedly out of the ordinary event. As Carl Sagan once said, "extraordinary claims
Office of ~ Office of
Mined Land Reclamation Active and Inactive Mines