GENERAL31616

• Permit No: C1981020
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 3/10/1993
• Doc Name: PROPOSED DECISION & FINDINGS OF COMPLIANCE FOR RN2
• Permit Index Doc Type: FINDINGS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

THE CONDITIONAL STATUS OF THE APPROVAL SHALL BE SATISFIED WITH RECEIPT OF THIS
DOCUMENTATION AND THE OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING'S RECOMMENDATION FOR
UNCONDITIONAL ISSUE OF A PERMIT TO GRAND VALLEY COAL COMPANY. AT SUCH TIME,
THE DIVISION SHALL GRANT FINAL APPROVAL OF GRAND VALLEY COAL'S PERFORMANCE BOND
AND RELEASE SALT CREEK MINING'S PERFORMANCE BOND.
SECTION B
The following findings and specific approvals are required by Rule 4:
Roads - Rule 4.03
Road Construction
Information dealing with road design and construction for the Munger
Canyon Mine is located in Section 2.2.2 of Volume I and Appendix 0 of
Volume V of the application. This material has been reviewed by the
Division for compliance with the Rules and Regulations.
The proposed haul road for the Munger Canyon Mine is approximately two
miles in length. This road follows the alignment of an existing pioneer
road excavated in 1977. This road, as the applicant observes, can be
divided into two distinct design segments. The lower segment connects
State Highway No. 139 (Sta. 0+00') and the confluence of the Munger Creek
Canyon with the canyon of the unnamed tributary to Munger Creek on which
the portals are located (Sta. 67+00'>. This segment occupies the
relatively broad canyon floor at a fairly low gradient (2.6X>. The
majority of this segment consists of a low constructed road berm.
The upper segment of the haul road connects the confiuence of the two
stream valleys (Sta. 67+00') with the mine portal bench (Sta. 140+30'>.
This roughly 3700-foot-long segment climbs at a steeper gradient (7.5X>
along the southern valley wall of the valley of the unnamed tributary to
Munger Creek. The southern wall of this canyon is steep, with
cross-sections in excess of 30°, obviously qualifying as a "steep siope
mining area." In order to straighten the alignment of the existing
pioneer road to accommodate larger coal hauling vehicles, the applicant
proposes to enlarge existing road cuts and construct road berms across
several drainage swales.
Salt Creek Mining Company submitted a geo-technical analysis and amended
design recommendations for the proposed haul road. This report, prepared
by Geo-Hydro Consultants, Inc. contains geo-technical conclusions
regarding the stability of the proposed haul road corridor and
recommendations for the construction of necessary road cuts and road fill
embankments. The consultant's methodology consists basically of
geological mapping of the affected area and observation of the performance
of cuts adjoining the existing pioneer road, which was constructed roughly
four years prior to this investigation.
The geo-technical investigation determined that four basic soil or rock
types are encountered along the road's alignment. While no major or
deep-seated landslides have occurred along the pioneer road, some shallow
sloughing has occurred. 8y observing the cut slope gradients in areas of
sloughing and correlating these observations with the four characteristic
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