GENERAL30618 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Descriation of the Operations and Reclamation Plan The Bear No. 3 Mine is a room and pillar underground operation, currently producing 250,000 to 300,000 tons of coal per year from the "C" Seam, in Federal Lease No. D-052501. Presently, the coal mined by Bear Coal Company is transported from the underground workings via the No. 3 portal. Mining at the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 Mines ceased in June, 1982. The surface facilities of the Bear No. 1 and No. 2 Mines have been removed, and the 19-acre disturbed area has been regraded, ripped, seeded and revegetated. The portals are sealed and the face-up areas backfilled to a stable configuration. Some remedial reclamation, including topsoiling and seeding, is currently under way. The Bear No. 3 operation involved the renovation of the abandoned Edwards Portal, and the mining of the "C" Seam in Federal Coal Lease No. D-052501. Access to Federal Coal Lease No. C-01170192 will be through the Bear No. 3 portal. A sediment control system, including a sediment pond, drainage ditches and culverts has been constructed. Topsoil has been salvaged and stockpiled on site to be used in final reclamation. Bear Coal Company produces 250,000 to 300,000 tons of coal per year by room and pillar methods. Mining during the first five-year permit term will be limited to the "C" Seam. The applicant anticipates mining of the 6 Seam 50 feet below the "C" Seam, the E Seam 200 feet above the "C" Seam, and the F Seam 350 feet above the "C" Seam during future five-year permit terms; however, no information is available about the future mining operations. Mining has commenced from the outcrop of the "C" coal seam with some new development entries driven to complement the existing entries of the Edwards Mine. The main entries proceed up-dip in a southerly direction with panel development areas extending both easterly and westerly from the mains. Coal is transported from the underground operations via a conveyor belt, fed into a crusher, and the crushed coal conveyed to a stacking tube and coal stockpile on site. Coal is trucked to the Terror Creek Loadout facility (Colorado permit No. C-059-83) near Bowie, Colorado. Upon cessation of mining, final reclamation at the Bear No. 3 Mine will entail facilities removal, portal sealing and backfilling, and regrading of the mine bench and face up area to a stable configuration. The regraded area will be ripped, topsoiled and revegetated. The operation and reclamation plan, as presented in the application, includes requests for variances from approximate original contour (steep slope mining), mining within 300 feet of a residence, and disturbance within 100 feet of a perennial stream which the Division has approved. Appropriate mitigation, alternative plans, and waivers have been incorporated into the permit application.