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(9oft deep) that was to be utilized for the disposal of coal waste. However, in 1990 the pit had been filled in and the material was beginning to be deposited above ground. It currently has approximately 470,000 tons above ground (nearly 100 ft high). The State has informed the company that late this year either the material will have to be removed and placed in a permanent refuse disposal site, to be located to the South-Southwest of the current pile, or the material will have to be run through a preparation plant (yet to be built). Explosives Area - Topsoil salvaged from this area is vegetated. There had been a problem late last year with erosion caused by a vehicle attempting to get down the hill for water sampling of Pond T. The area has been regraded and seeded. Portal Area - Well maintained. The reclamation of this area, in particular, the volume of material needed for backfilling and grading is being addressed in the current review of PR-3. The Albuquerque Field Office will monitor the outcome of that review. Near the conclusion of the inspection I requested Mr. Mills make a few full time employees available for an interview regarding the requirements of Sec. 703 of SMCRA and Sec. 865 of the'30 CFR's. I interviewed the following employees: Patrick Ring, Butch Krump and Jim Eggleston. All employees appeared to be well versed in the MSHA• -regulations deaiing with the reporting of obserired safety- --- ---- violations. However, their knowledge of SMCRA and the provisions for reporting, without the fear of retaliation, environmental violations ranged from a vague concept to no knowledge of SMCRA. In addition, when questioned as to whether they had received a copy of the 30 CFR 865 regulations one employee said he believed he had while the other two clearly indicated they had not. After the interview I requested Mr. Mills produce the material that is normally given new employees and specifically what the company believed it presented employees that met the requirements of Sec. 865. Mr. Mills gave me a copy of the Cyprus Minerals Environmental policy and a copy of an instructional document outlining the activities of DMG and the Division of Health. While the documents presented by Mr. Mills indicate a positive corporate attitude toward compliance with environmental laws they do not constitute compliance with the specific requirements of Sec. 865. Therefore, based on the above, Notice of Violation (NOV) 94-020-250-001 was issued. The NOV was served on and explained to Mr. Mills. He indicated that he understood the nature of the violation and the actions necessary to abate the NOV.