ENFORCE32866

• Permit No: C1980001
• IBM Index Class Name: Enforcement
• Doc Date: 5/23/1995
• Doc Name: Operator Comment Letter w/Note from Specialist
• From: THE PITTSBURG & MIDWAY COAL MINING CO
• To: DMG
• Violation No.: CV1995013
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

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999
The Pittsburg 6c Midway Coal Mining Co.
A Chevron Company
Edna Mine
P.O. Box 176, Oak Creek, CO 80467
[phone]
Diwsic. _• .. orals & Geology
Mr. Kent Gorham
CDMG
1313 Sherman St.
Room 215
Denver, CO 80203-2273
Mr. Gorham:
D~fi~a~tn- ~r7
5u//~h, i~' i~,.
e~ ~ ND~Cs~~~-,
RFCEIVEf?
MAY 2 3 1995
May 22, 1995
On May 12, 1995 you issued N.O.V. C-95-013 during a partial
inspection of the Edna Mine. This correspondence will .serve to
convey information to the Division that P&M wishes to have
considered during the consideration of civil penalty for this
violation.
The Moffat Pond has two designed inflow ditches, one from the north
end of the pond and one from the south end. The south end inlet
was constructed prior to mining disturbance in the area in order to
capture disturbed area run off during the first phases of the
Moffat mine plan. Topsoil stripping had advanced far enough by the
fall season of 1994 to warrant the start of construction on the
northern section of the inflow ditch. Approximately 500' of this
ditch was roughed in prior to snow falls ending construction
activities for the winter. This unfinished inflow ditch was the
site of the "short circuit" in the pond discharge referenced in the
N.O.V,.
During the spring of this year ground conditions have been such
that we have not been able to access this area with heavy equipment
to finish the inflow structure area. The unfinished inflow
structure not being to design grade coupled with some very wet
weather conditions and a partially plugged primary discharge tube
from the pond led to the "short circuit" referred to earlier.
The plugged discharge tube and water discharging over the water
withdrawal pad was first noticed on the afternoon of 5/11/95 during
some routine field work. The discharge tube was immediately
cleared. Sy the time I had left the pond that afternoon the water
had quit running over the road at the site of the unfinished
northern inflow. By this time our limited hourly workforce had
finished for the day and gone home. I scheduled some equipment to
be available at the site in the morning of the 12th to build the
grade up on the downhill side of the inflow ditch in order to
prevent discharge from escaping at that location in the future. At
about 6:00 P.M. on the evening of the 11th it began raining fairly
heavily and rained all evening and into the next morning. It was