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Mountain Coal Company <br />West Elk Mine <br />Post Office Box 591 <br />Somerset, Colorado 81434 <br />Telephone 970 929-5015 <br />Fax 970 929-5595 <br />August 11, 1997 <br />Mr. Michael Long <br />DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY <br />Office of Mined Land Reclamation <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />9ivipign of Minorals & Geology <br />g-IZ <br />Re: West Elk Mine, Permit No. C-80-007, Request to Vacate NOV Nos. CV-97-008, CV-97- <br />009, and CV-97-O10 <br />Dear Mr. Long: <br />Mountain Coal Company (MCC) respectfully requests that the Division vacate the above- <br />referenced Notices of Violation (NOV) based on the information and discussions provided below. <br />NOV CV-97-008 <br />This NOV was "issued as a result of ... light-use road berm material being deposited in the <br />Sylvester Gulch stream" in alleged violation of a number of regulations including, most <br />prominently, 4.03.3(1)(a), 4.03.3(1)(b), 4.03.3(2)(b), 4.03.3(2)(d), 4.03.3(4)(d), 4.05.1(1), <br />4.05.5(1)(a), 4.05.5(1)(c) and 4.06.1(1). Specifically, the Division bases the violation on <br />MCC's ... <br />"failure to design, construct or reconstruct, and maintain light-use roads to control erosion <br />and siltation as evidenced from the damaged silt fencing and addition of silt and suspended <br />solids and sediment to streamflow; locating road berm construction materials in the <br />channel of an intermittent or perennial stream; failure to locate light-use roads to minimize <br />downstream sedimentation; alteration ofnatural-channel drainageways for the purpose of <br />light-use road construction; failure to minimize disturbance of the prevailing hydrologic <br />balance; failure to segregate topsoil and subsoils from other material as evidenced by the <br />placement road berms on top of vegetated areas along the Sylvester Gulch stream <br />channel." <br />For the reasons set forth in detail below, MCC respectfully maintains that the foregoing <br />allegations do not constitute violations of the cited rules. <br />First, the light-use road that is the subject ofthis violation is a historic jeep trail that pre-dates all <br />of MCC's mine construction and facilities. To minimize disturbance, thus reducing erosion and <br />sediment generation potential in compliance with Rule 4.03.3(1)(a), MCC utilized as much of this <br />existing road as possible for the initial access to the drill sites for the electric borehole, <br />RECEIVED <br />AUG 15 1997 <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <br />999 <br />