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Mr. Thomas Ehmett 2 Juue 30, 1994 <br />BACKGROUND <br />On May 12, 1994, members of the DMG and OSM/AFO conducted a Phase I bond release <br />inspection at the Kerr Coal Company (Kerr), Marr Mine. As a result of the May 12, 1994 <br />inspection, and a subsequent May 25, 1994 OSM/AFO inspection, federal Notice of Violation <br />94-020-352-003, and TDN X-94-020-352-002 TV were issued. Also issued as a result of the <br />May 12, 1994 inspection was a DMG inspection report and evaluation dated May 25, 1994, <br />containing a detailed list of issues which must be resolved prior to any final decision to approve <br />the Phase I release request. The reclamation is generally in compliance with the approved plan; <br />however, a final decision has not been made by DMG, and such a decision will not be made <br />until the outstanding deficiencies are addressed adequately by Kerr. <br />The Harr Strip Mine is located in north central Colorado, 12 miles east of the town of Walden, <br />in an intermountain valley known as North Park. The Marr Mine produced coal from the <br />Sudduth seam, a coal seam 36 feet to 75 feet thick. The dip of the coal averages 68°. The coal <br />at the Marr Mine is thick and steeply dipping; therefore, mining was conducted using "open pit" <br />mining methods, as opposed to "area strip" methods. <br />The Marr Mine consists of three main pit sections. These are the center pit area, lmown as the <br />"Harr Pit," a southern pit known as the "720 Pit," and the northern area addressed in the TDN, <br />known as the "Pit 1." The "Harr Pit" area was mined prior to August 1, 1980, and a large <br />portion of this "Harr Pit" was backfilled, graded, topsoiled and seeded prior to the Permanent <br />Program permit issuance on March 20, 1981. The "Pit 1" mining was not approved or initiated <br />under any permits prior to the March 20, 1981 State approval. The current reclamation plan <br />was revised and approved via State permit Technical Revision No. 7 (approved July 18, 1990), <br />with minor additional modifications made and approved via State permit Technical Revision <br />No. 10 (approved October 29, 1993). These changes occurred when it became apparent that <br />market and lease problems would prevent additional mining which was previously anticipated. <br />Numerous detailed mine phw and reclamation plan sequence maps are available for review at <br />the DMG Office, but are not included here, due to volume considerations. Various aerial <br />photographs of the mine, including photos from June 28, 1976, September 25, 1980, and <br />numerous photographs from more recent years are also on file at the DMG. These maps and <br />photographs clearly document the mining and reclamation sequence at the Marr Mine, and these <br />materials have been used to research and support this request for review. <br />REGULATORY ISSUES <br />The TDN alleges that Kerr Coal Company has failed "...to return areas disturbed by surface coal <br />mining operations to their approximate original contour." <br />