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T MANE SITE EVALUATIO[7 REPORT NARRATIVE January 18, 1984 BLUE RIBBON COAL COMPANY = P. O. Box 58 Delta, CO 81416 BLUE RIBBON MINE Colorado Permit No. C-047081 Personnel on Inspection: , Larry Reschke, Mine Engineer Gary Fritz, Reclamation Specialist (OSM ID #244) ' Enforcement A problem was noted during this oversight inspection that was relayed to the State Mined Land Reclamation Division (MLRD). Stockpiled coal was piled adjacent to or on a small portion of a topsoil stockpile. Sized and crushed coal is truck hauled down a switchback road to the company's major stockpile area next to Hubbard Creek. The trucks are backed-up onto the stockpile and end dumped. The operators were not watching the extent of the outslope because it was close to or on topsoil. There was about two feet of snow in the area making it difficult to identify the stockpile limits or the extent of damage if there was any. I asked Larry Reschke, one of the company's mine engineers, if the stockpile limits were mapped. He said that the area is designated as a topsoil storage area but the company does not have volume measurements or coordinates on the limits of the stockpile. It was not possible to push back the snow to see if the company had contaminated the topsoil because it was between the stockpiled coal and an embankment that is undisturbed and fairly steep. Since it was not a clear violation, I did not issue a ten-day notice. Mr. Reschke also immediately stopped the coal dumping in the area. On the day following the inspection, I called Mike Long, Colorado's MLRD Federal Coordinator about another matter. During the discussion, I told him about the problem that I had encountered at this mine. He asked me to pass my findings on to one of the MLRD staff members that was going to be in the area the following week. Bob Liddle, the staff member in the area, called me from the mine on the Monday following my inspection. I told him about the problem. He said that he had also noticed it during his inspection. He said that there was also a clear water diversion ditch around the base of the stockpile that was covered with coal and snow. He also said that he was fairly confident that topsoil would be contaminated when the snow melts between the coal and the stockpile. He said that an enforcement action would be implemented.