ENFORCE30965 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~ 999 Mountain Coal Company West Elk Mine Post Office Boz 597 Somerset, Cobredo 81434 Telephone 970-939-3013 July 16, 1996 Mr. Michael Long Director, Colorado Division of Minerals & Geology 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 RE: Mountain Coal Company, Notice of Violation C-96-013 Dear Mr. Long: /\ \/ RFrFivED JUL 2 2 1996 DIVISion of Minorpla S Geoio7Y On June 18, 1996, the Colorado Division of Minerals & Geology (Division) issued Notice of Violation (NOV) C-96-013 to Mountain Coal Company's West Elk Mine, located near Somerset, Colorado. The NOV alleges that three distinct events constituted a violation of Division regulations: ] . Extraction of a stuck bulldozer on the mine's lower refuse pile 2. Relocating a stockpile atop the mine's lower refuse pile 3. Mixing refuse and previously distributed subsoil during the reconfiguration of the lower refuse pile In fact, none of the events warranted issuance of the NOV. 1. Stuck Bulldozer Prior to the inspection that gave rise to the NOV, a bulldozer became stuck attempting to cross a drainage ditch on the east refuse pile bench. The dozer became stuck because it was crossing a drainage ditch at the toe of the steep slope. It did not become stuck because of overall wet conditions. The extraction of the bulldozer churned up some refuse material which mixed with suitable cover material in the vicinity of the drainage ditch, but this impact was inconsequential, and caused no material impact to any soil resource. The Inspection Report implies that the dozer became stuck because it was "working in wet conditions." It was not. The mine's permit, in Exhibit 51, prohibits moving topsoil or subsoil in wet conditions. That requirement is designed to assure that the operator will not lose soil resources by moving wet soils in rainy weather. Mountain Coal at no point attempted to move topsoil or subsoil during wet conditions. This permit condition does not mean that an operator is subject to an NOV simply because there is an incidental contact with water at the mine site.