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<br />~ ~ ~ > ~ December 1986 1 <br />1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />1.1 Background <br /> <br />2 <br />Yampa Valley Coal Corporation (YVCC) currently mines the Wadge <br />coal seam at the Colorado Yampa strip coal mine in Routt County, <br />Colorado. Current planning proposes the development of a new <br />surface-mining operation in the Little yiddle Creek tract, <br />immediately west and southwest of the existing operation in Area <br />51. The location of the proposed operation is indicated on <br />Figure 1. <br />This new operation will principally mine the Wolf Creek seam, <br />which is stratigraphically 180 feet below the ~9adge. The Wadge <br />seam has been removed by erosion and mining from the central and <br />eastern portions of the tract. The FVadge will be mined where it <br />is present at the western end of the tract. The configuration of <br />the tract and proposed mining is shown on Figure 2. <br />It is proposed that all mining will take place in strike line <br />pits, with successive pits progressing updip. Initial box cuts <br />will be developed at the downdip limits of mining, where the <br />overburden is thickest. Spoil from the box cuts, which will be <br />disposed of immediately downslope of the box cuts, will classify <br />as excess spoil. Therefore, these spoil structures must be <br />designed in accordance with regulatory requirements for excess <br />spoil. In order to smooth out the post-mining ground surface <br />contours, excess spoil will be placed within valleys which cut <br />across the box cut. This material will classify as valley fill, <br />for which special regulatory requirements apply. Locally, the <br />excess spoil will be placed on spoil which has resulted from <br />previous mining of the Wadge seam. Overburden removal will <br />generally be accomplished using a dragline, with the exception of <br />Golder Associates <br />