Laserfiche WebLink
- West End of East Pit- Roughly 100'L. along the reclaimed border of the East Pit. <br />Piles were placed this Fall. Piles were not seeded, and no topsoil sign was posted. <br />Page 2.05-26 of the Colowyo permit states, <br />"...Typically, the last loads of topsoil hauled into a regraded spoil area will be left in <br />place in a narrow windrow adjacent to the area to be seeded. Since, in the spring <br />of the next year, this is the first topsoil to be respread onto the advancing regraded <br />spoil, the windrow is always left in place for less than one year..." <br />The piles located in the Section 11 Pit are depicted in the aerial photograph dated <br />September 28, 1994. According to the permit, these piles were to be re-spread in the Spring <br />of 1995. Due to the on set of winter, spreading of the topsoil piles will be conducted in the <br />Spring of 1996. Please see attached aerial photograph and recent photos of this area. <br />None of the piles mentioned above were seeded in accordance with the approved temporary <br />seed mix. Two of the five piles have been in place since fall of 1994 (noted above). A thick <br />stand of Russian Thistle dominates these two piles. Page 4.06.3 of the Colowyo permit <br />states, <br />"...The topsoil stockpiles will be seeded with the following perennial see mixture to <br />control erosion; Western wheatgrass- 4 Ibs/acre, Intermediate wheatgrass- 41bs/acre <br />and Cicer milkvetch- .5 Ibs/acre." <br />Only one topsoil sign was noted on the pile in the center of the East Pit. The four <br />remaining piles were not marked, and are located in high-traffic areas (adjacent to the in-pit <br />haul road). During the complete inspection dated 11/16/95 the Division noted that topsoil <br />signs should be placed on the windrow piles on the edge of the East Pit. Only one of the <br />five windrow topsoil piles were marked. <br />I have one final comment regarding NOV C-95-026; moments prior to writing the violation, <br />Jim ICiger handed me a minor revision application requesting an extension to leave the <br />"surge" piles in place for one additional year. The Division contends that leaving the <br />salvaged topsoil adjacent to active mine areas for up to two years does not appear to be an <br />effective means of preserving topsoil for reclamation. The time frame for moving the piles <br />is adequately addressed in the permit and abatement step #3 of the NOV. <br />Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. <br />c:\wp51\colowyo\nov026 <br />