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ii i iii i iii iiiiu iii <br />999 <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY <br />Deportment of Natural Resources <br />1 313 Sherman 5[., Room 21 5 <br />Denver, Colwslu N0203 <br />Phone: 13031 06G-3567 <br />FA%: 13031 832-0106 <br />June 7, 1999 <br />Mr. Phil Schmidt <br />Engineering Manager <br />Mountain Coal Company <br />P.O. Box 591 <br />Somerset, CO 81434 <br />RE: The Bear No. 3 Mine <br />Dear Mr. Schmidt: <br />~~ ~. <br />DI tlI510N O1 <br />MINERALS <br />GEOLOGYI <br />RECLAMATION <br />MINING•SAFETY <br />Greg E ~~'. ICher <br />E~ecmwe Dbeao~ <br />6111 Owens <br />Governor <br />M4hael 6. Long <br />Division Director <br />This letter is in response to the questions you asked in your letter to the Division <br />dated April 16, 1999. In your letter, you asked several questions pertaining to <br />three topics. Those topics were, 1.) the landslide at the Bear No. 3 Mine, 2.) a <br />technical revision of the Bear Mine permit addressing construction of a pond and, <br />3.) Bear Coal Company's (BCC) right of entry onto Mountain Coal Company's <br />property at the Bear No. 3 Mine. As with all correspondence regarding ongoing <br />permitting actions, a copy of your letter was forwarded to BCC following receipt <br />by our office. I will try to address your questions as they relate to the three <br />topics above. <br />1. The landslide <br />Your letter points out that the Division had previously expressed concerns about <br />the landslide at the Bear No. 3 Mine due to the slide's proximity to the Bear Mine <br />reclamation, the North Fork of the Gunnison and the town of Somerset. The <br />Division still shares those concerns. However, in the absence of credible <br />evidence that the slide was caused by mining operations at the Bear No. 3 Mine, <br />this office has not asserted that BCC is liable for impacts or damages caused by <br />the slide. Based on the information currently available to our office, it is not clear <br />what, if any, mining operations contributed to or caused the landslide to occur. <br />The Division has recommended that BCC refrain from any attempts at monitoring <br />or stabilizing the landslide at this time, due to safety concerns. Last year, the <br />Division did recommend that BCC take some sort of measures to warn the public <br />of potential danger in the slide area andlor to limit access to the area. Minimal <br />