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<br />Michael Long <br />June 28, 1995 <br />Page 2 <br />addition, silt fence was not in place at all for a portion <br />of the surface runoff from the pile. As a result, <br />disturbed area drainage off of the waste pile was <br />leaving the disturbed area completely untreated. <br />Waldron Inspection Report, page 1 of 3 (May 26, 1995). <br />Mr. Waldron is mistaken about the effectiveness of sediment control at <br />this site. I have enclosed a copy of the small area exemption (SAE) <br />demonstration text for this site for your review. The SAE describes the <br />conceptual design for sediment control for the Lone Pine Gulch <br />development waste pile. While that design has since been modified by <br />Mountain Coal and the Division and addresses drainage control for the <br />final configuration of the pile, the SAE provides the most complete <br />statement concerning sediment control at this site. Mountain Coal's <br />intentions and actions have been to control sediment from the site, even <br />during initial site preparation and pile construction. <br />All topsoil was stripped from this area and the underdrains constructed <br />before development waste was stockpiled (as agreed in the field by <br />Christine Johnston [see attached inspection report)), along with cover <br />material at the site. Mountain Coal's fourth quarter 1994, self-inspection <br />report and certifications were submitted to the Division on January 17, <br />1995, and contained certifications of the "critical construction periods" <br />(Rule 4.09.1), including topsoil stripping and the underdrain construction <br />(with photos). By the stripping of topsoil and the natural slope of the site, <br />all water is contained within the stripped area and flows to a low point at <br />the north end of this area. As discussed in the SAE, Mountain Coal <br />installed a silt fence around the down-slope portion of the development <br />waste pile. Mountain Coal did not install a silt fence around the entire pile <br />because water from the pile will not flow to areas upgradient from the pile. <br />The silt fence installed by Mountain Coal covered more than the total area <br />to which water will flow from the waste pile. It is therefore not true that <br />water was flowing across or through the waste pile and leaving the site <br />"completely untreated." <br />The Inspection Report also alleges that the silt fence at the site was not <br />keyed into the ground, rendering the silt fence "completely ineffectual." <br />Mountain Coal admits that portions of the fence were not standing <br />perfectly erect as it had been trampled by cattle, and that one portion of <br />the fence was not keyed into the ground, because it passed over a piece <br />of brush. Prior to the inspection, Mountain Coal had reinstalled all of the <br />silt fence at the Lone Pine Gulch facilities area, including the pile site, as <br />