Laserfiche WebLink
J. E. STOVER & ASSOCIATES <br />2768 COMPASS DRIVE, SUITE 101 <br />GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO 81506 <br />PHONE: (970) 245101, FAX 242-7908 <br />MINE ENGINEERING <br />MINE RECLAMATION <br />October 10, 1997 <br />Mr. David Berry <br />Division of Minerals and Geology <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Re: Review of Technical Revision No. 80 <br />West Elk Mine Permit No. C-80-007 <br />Dear Mr. Berry: <br />j._ : ! y 1~'~'i <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />9s9 <br />CIVIL ENGINEERING <br />GONST. MANAGEMENT <br />The DMG's letter to me dated September 29, 1997 provided a copy of the text portion <br />of MCC's responses to the DMG's adequacy review for Technical Revision No. 80 (TR- <br />80). MCC's responses addressed Bear Coal Company's concerns about TR-80 which <br />were expressed in my letter to the DMG dated July 15, 1997. On behalf of Bear Coal <br />Company, following are its comments on MCC's thirty page letter to the DMG dated <br />September 22, 1997. <br />MCC presents some interesting timing data that was previously unknown to <br />Bear. MCC's 1 NW - 5NW longwall panels were sealed in May of 1995. The <br />sealed panels created the NW Sealed Sump. Until May of 1995 the small <br />capacity sumps located in the longwall panels, up-dip and adjacent to the Bear <br />No. 3 Mine, were routinely dewatered. Once these panels were sealed, water <br />was collected and stored in the sumps and the longwall panels. MCC states that <br />operational vrater as well as minor inflow water from the 8NW panel naturally <br />flowed to the NW Sealed Sump. Presumably, MCC had no reason to minimize <br />the amount of water that flowed to the NW Sealed Sump. <br />Bear states in its 1995 AHR that beginning in June of 1995, The Bear No. 3 <br />Mine began to notice a measurable amount of water building behind the seals in <br />the 3r° West Section. This unanticipated flow coincides perfectly with MCC's <br />sealing of its 1 NW - 5NW panels. MCC sealed the panels in May 1995 which <br />allowed increased quantities of water to be stored in the NW Sealed Sump. The <br />resultant seepage from the NW Sealed Sump reached Bear's 3r° West Section <br />during June 1995. The fact the flow from the West Etk mine to the Bear No. 3 <br />Mine increased from 16 gpm to 30 gpm during the following year would be <br />