ENFORCE29324

• Permit No: C1981012
• IBM Index Class Name: Enforcement
• Doc Date: 9/26/1994
• Doc Name: RECOMMENDATION TO DENY REQUEST FOR VACATION OF NOV C-94-020
• From: DMG
• To: MICHAEL LONG
• Violation No.: CV1994020
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
Depanmenl of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman St., Room 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAI(: (3071 872-8106
Date: September 26, 1994
To: Michael B. Long, Division Director
From: Susan J. McCannon, Coal Program Supervisor
Re: Recommendation to Deny Request for Vacation of NOV C-94-020
~~~~~
DEPARTMENT OI
NATURAI
RESOURCE'
Roy Romer
Governor
lames S. LOChhead
Executive Dlreclor
Michael B. Long
Div+sinn D~reclor
On August 12, 1994, the Division issued NOV C-94-020 to Basin Resources for the permittee's
failure to maintain the principal spillways of two ponds constructed at the New Elk Mine. Both
of these spillways were leaking at the time of the inspection, and the operator was unable to
repair the leaks prior to the conclusion of the Division's inspection that began on August 10,
1994, and ended on August 12. The Division received the request for vacation on September 12,
1994.
Basin has had previous experience with leaking principal pond spillways. During 1993, at the
Golden Eagle Mine, Basin Resources was cited for discharging "black" water from one of its
sediment ponds. When the permittee attempted to close the gate on the dewateting device,
drainage continued to leak past the gate. Subsequent investigations by the permittce indicated
that the spillway culvert had a crack in it, and Basin had to excavate the culvert to repair the
crack.
During the week immediately preceding the August 1994 oversight inspection, the New Elk Mine
received a rainfall event large enough that Pond 008, the MSHA impoundment situated below the
refuse pile and immediately adjacent to State Highway 12, was filled to within a foot of the
primary spillway inlet.
At the time of the August 10-12 inspection, OSM and DMG inspectors observed that a leaking
horizontal seam in the vertical riser of the primary spillway was allowing water to flow from the
pond into the spillway and then to discharge. The level of the leak in the riser was
approximately seven to eight feet below the level of the water in the pond. The petmittce was
unable to repair the spillway leak by the end of the State's inspection.
Additionally, at Pond 007, the permittce opened a closed gate on that pond's dewatering device
during the oversight inspection. When the permittee attempted to close the gate, the permittce
could not do so without the gate leaking. The permittee was also unable to correct this problem
by the end of the inspection.