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<br />Mr. Thomas Ehmett, Acting Director -3- April 21, 1995 <br />Office of Surface Mining Reclamation <br />and Enforcement <br />the flow rate associated with the 100-year, 24-hour precipitation event. The culvert is not <br />a structural control necessary to maintain this hydrodynamic equilibrium. <br />OSM's narrative included with the April 13, 1995 mine-site evaluation inspection report <br />mentions maintenance liability concerns associated with the culvert. Energy Fuels Mining <br />Company has been apprised that the mining company is responsible for maintenance of <br />the culvert until such time as final bond release is approved by the Division. The <br />Division issued an NOV in 1993 for failure to maintain diversion structures, and the <br />culvert has been diligently maintained since. The collapse of a portion of the culvert that <br />occurred in 1994 was due to a loaded scraper passing over the culvert repeatedly during <br />reclamation operations last year. The repeated use of this type of heavy equipment over <br />the culvert is not likely to reoccur in the course of post-mining grazing operations. <br />Further, as was discussed in the Division's Phase I Bond Release Findings, the surface <br />landowner has specifically requested the culvert structure to remain after the mining <br />operation. Leaving the culvert will allow for 1.07 acres of additional grazing land to <br />remain, and will provide access for the landowner from the former mine site to the <br />property on the opposite side of Starkville Gulch. The landowner has been informed that <br />he will be responsible for maintenance after the mining company is released from <br />liability. Energy Fuels has requested the landowner provide a letter stating this <br />understanding. <br />Based on the information provided herein, the Division believes that the conditions cited <br />in Part One of this Ten-Day Notice do not represent a violation of Rule 4.05.4(4). <br />2 Failed to restore disturbed areas to AOC. Slopes of refuse pile (west and south slopes) port <br />slope by sediment catch basins (Rule 4.14.1(2) (a). <br />Part Two of the Ten-Day Notice states that the operator has failed to restore certain <br />regraded areas of the mine site to approximate original contour as required by Rule <br />4.14.1(2)(a). The areas of concern referenced specifically were the west slope of the coal <br />waste bank (refuse pile), the southern slope of the coal waste bank adjacent to the <br />sediment catch basins, and the north-facing slope of the former office pad. This north <br />facing slope of the office pad is referred to as the southern embankment of one of the <br />catchment basins in OSM's inspection narrative. <br />The Division disagrees in part with this statement. Rule 4.14,1(2)(e) specifically states <br />that underground mining operations that have excess material are not required to <br />