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Page six <br />Basin's commitment to environmental and regulatory compliance has <br />recently been proven again by the abatement and termination of the <br />subject violations which required extensive time and effort. In hind- <br />sight, Basin should have taken many of these violations to the Board to <br />receive a ruling and possible vacation of those which should not have <br />been written in the form in which they were written. However, Basin did <br />not pursue this course of action with the intent to "work with the <br />Division". <br />It is Basin's intent now that compliance has been achieved to keep <br />it that way. Basin has acquired a 15 year coal contract with Tampa <br />Electric and can not afford to have any environmental or regulatory <br />compliance issues jeopardize the production requirements of the contract. <br />This also is true for the commitment Basin has made to the 180 employees <br />of the mine and to the economy of Las Animas County. <br />SUMMARY <br />This analysis presents the reasons why the Board should not suspend <br />or revoke the permit to mine at the New Elk Mine. These reasons can be <br />summarized as follows: <br />1. Basin received the referenced NOVs as a result of a combination of <br />events which culminated in March 1993. These include changes in <br />enforcement policy as a result of political changes in program <br />implementation on the State and Federal level due to liability created by <br />other mining operations, reinterpretation of regulatory requirements <br />which created the necessity for additional design and documentation, <br />failure to maintain facilities by both Basin and the previous owner, and <br />failure of the Division to implement direction on several of these items <br />over the past several years. <br />2. Basin responded to abate and terminate the NOVs as quickly and <br />efficiently as possible given the number and nature of the tasks. This <br />included the commitment to achieve regulatory compliance by hiring <br />additional environmental staff as well as contract labor. These <br />commitments have been fulfilled. <br />3. Fourteen of the sixteen NOVs are currently terminated and the other <br />two are in the final phases of termination. As a result, the operation <br />is in compliance with the rules and regulations of the State program. <br />4. Basin has implemented a regulatory compliance program to prevent a <br />similar situation from developing in the future and is in the process of <br />formalizing this plan by the use of engineering inspections, record <br />keeping, appropriate maintenance and follow up, and third party <br />auditing. <br />5. Basin has acquired a long term coal contract and is committed to <br />long term environmental and regulatory compliance. This compliance will <br />ensure environmental protection as well as economic benefits to <br />individuals employed at the mine as well as Las Animas County. <br />