2004-11-15_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1996083

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portal bench and associated structures was approved in Permit Revision No. 7. The B Seam portal bench is approximately 250 feet lower than the D Seam portal bench. Approval of the B Seam mining five year term was through Pernvt Revision No. 8. Coal from the D-2 coal seam is brought out of the mine and is sized and stockpiled on the D-2 coal seam portal bench. The development mining coal in the B-2 coal seam is brought out onto the B-2 coal seam and, then, brought up to the D-2 portal bench by haul truck. Technical Revision No. 34 approved the construction of a B Seam portal upland conveyor. When built, the B Seam coal will be brought up to the D Seam portal bench by conveyor. From the D Seam portal bench, coal is brought down the mountain side to a coal stockpile by way of a downhill conveyor. A conveyor system links this coal stockpile with the recently constructed wash plant, approved in Technical Revision No. 27. Coal from the coal stockpile is, then, brought down to the unit train loadout by way of a completely enclosed conveyor system. BRL has added a second coal waste stockpile through Technical Revision No. 30. The sediment control for this new azea includes a new Pond F. This coal waste pile no. 21ies directly east of the original coal waste pile, which still has capacity for coal waste storage. The mine plans for both the D Seam coal and the B Seam coal have been modified several times. In Technical Revision No. 31 (TR-31), BRL requested approval to extend D Seam longwall panel WD3 and add additional bleeder entries to the B Seam mine plan adjacent to the B Seam longwall panel WB1, in order to incorporate an expansion of mining in Federal Coal Lease COC 61209. Coincidently, just before TR-31 was submitted to the Division, a rockslide occurred in the USDA-Forest Service land neaz where Dove Gulch intersects Hubbazd Creek. The rockslide occurred on the east end of longwall panel D9 in November of 2003. As a consequence, the Division requested in TR-31 that BRL submit a rockfall repair plan for the Hubbazd Creek rockfall and, also, provide a protection plan for future rockfall hazards. The Division approved the rockfall repair plan submitted by BRL, as well as a protection plan that called for the construction of three rockfail catchment berms, later reduced to one berm, above their mine facilities azea. The Division received assistance from the Colorado Geological Survey in the review of the rockfall catchment berm design. A stipulation attached to TR-31 required BRL to submit a technical revision that would address the rockfall potential from mining two B Seam longwall panels, WB-1 and WB-2. BRL addressed this stipulation by submitting Technical Revision No. 35 (TR-35). In this revision, BRL proposed a modification to B Seam longwall panels WB-1 and WB-2 so that no additional rockfall catchment berms were needed. Additionally, TR 35 proposes to change the orientation of most of the B Seam longwall panels from north-south to east-west. TR-35 is still in the review process.