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iii iiiiuiiiiiiiiii 999 STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Department of Natural Resources 1 31 } 5herm m 51.. Room ? 15 Denver, Cry 8C'_03 Phone: IDOL 866~35bi March 15, 1993 Mr. AI Kline Assistant Director, Field Operations OSMRE Washington, D.C. 20240 Re: Federal Notice of Violation 93-020-370-001 Dear Mr. Kline: pp Cow Nc~~__ b •:~~ o, X8]6 ~ Rov Romer Governor Michael B. Long Division Director I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to meet with me in your office on February 25, 1993. At our meeting we discussed a number of issues which involve the Inspection and Enforcement program, and the interaction between the Albuquerque Field Office and the Division of Minerals and Geology. Of particular concern to the State is the recently issued Federal Notice of Violation. This NOV was issued to Powderhorn Coal Company in Mesa County, Colorado on February 23, 1993. Colorado is particularly concerned about the issuance of this violation due in large part to the apparent disregard of the State primacy concept by the Field Office. We are also very concerned about the lack of programmatic and site-specific understanding which was demonstrated by the Field Office, given the abatement outlined in the violation. From the perspective of the State, it is apparent that the Field Office has crossed the line from their assigned function of program oversight to that of program implementation. Colorado believes that the Federal Notice of Violation should be vacated in light of the fact that the Division had previously issued a violation which addresses the on-the-ground problem and requires resolution in the context of the Colorado Rules. As we discussed, Colorado was issued aTen-Day Notice regarding contemporaneous reclamation of the refuse disposal areas at Powderhorn's Roadside and Cameo Mines. The Division initially responded to the TDN by maintaining that a violation did not exist. This response was found to be inappropriate by the Field Office. The Division reconsidered the circumstances and issued Notice of Violation C-93-004 to Powderhorn Coal. The NOV cited a failure to contemporaneously reclaim the refuse piles, and required that the operator conclude an ongoing cover depth field trial and initiate reclamation within one year of the conclusion of the study. A reclamation schedule addressing the life of the facilities was included as an additional abatement measure. Shortly after providing the Field Office with a copy of the Violation, an AFO field inspector left us a telephone message stating that he was at an unspecified airport traveling to the Roadside Mine for the purposes of conducting a Federal inspection and issuing a Federal violation. The Field Office Director recalled the inspector after Colorado pointed out that we had no notice of