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A conveyor then moves the coal from the crushers to the two storage silos. A stacktube located <br />to the east of the silos provides additional storage for product coal. A loadout conveyor carries <br />coal from the storage silos to the over-the-track loadout. A portion of this conveyor is <br />completely enclosed where it crosses the North Fork of the Gunnison River and Highway 133. <br />Coal is shipped from the West Elk Mine mainly by rail, although some coal is either trucked <br />from the mine or is transferred to various handling or stockpile facilities on the mine site. <br />Coal mine waste at the mine is generated during underground construction activities and mining. <br />Other sources of coal mine waste aze contaminated coal spillage, sediment pond dredgings, and <br />soils contaminated with non-hazardous materials. These other sources of waste comprise only a <br />small portion of the coal mine waste produced at the mine. Coal mine waste is currently being <br />disposed onto a permanent coal mine waste pile called the Refuse Pile Expansion azea (RPE). <br />This is a 20-acre site to the east of the Lower Refuse Disposal Area, and is east of Sylvester <br />Gulch. The original coal mine waste disposal azea, referred to as the Lower Refuse Pile, remains <br />across Sylvester Gulch from the RPE. The level azea on top is used as an equipment lay-down <br />azea and the slopes have been topsoiled and seeded. An Upper Refuse Disposal Area has also <br />been approved for construction, and has not been built. Even though MCC has verbally indicated <br />that this pile will not be needed, before the pile can be constructed, MCC must address <br />stipulation #7. <br />State Highway 133 provides the main access to the West Elk Mine. A haul road joins the <br />highway east of the lower refuse pile and serves as the access to all facilities except the silo <br />storage azea. An old haul road accesses this area and other lower mine facilities, which is now <br />considered an access road. Other access roads include the middle-mine facilities road and the <br />Sylvester Gulch fan road. The Lone Pine Gulch road has been designated as alight-use road and <br />provides access to the former site of a ventilation fan. <br />Surface runoff from the disturbed azea is treated by eight ponds and a number of small area <br />exemptions (SAES). MB-1 is a lazge upper pond that holds mine discharge water and drainage <br />from the upper azeas of the site including the mine bench. MB-2R is the lazge lower pond which <br />treats drainage from a majority of the site, including the lower refuse pile. MB-3 is a small lower <br />pond which treats drainage from the silo storage azea. MB-4 serves the train loadout azea and <br />MB-5 treats drainage at the old Bear Mine site. Atwo-celled, lined pond controls sediment from <br />the Refuse Pile Expansion. The NSSA pond treats runoff from the North Soil Storage Area. <br />Sediment control pond SG-1 is located within Sylvester Gulch to treat runoff from the disturbed <br />azea associated with ventilation shafts. Mountain Coal Company also has a freshwater pond, <br />designated FW-1, which provides two months' storage capacity for potable and domestic water <br />uses. Another proposed freshwater pond, FW-2, has not been constructed at this time and is not <br />planned for construction during this permit term. <br />Topsoil storage azeas aze located on the east side of the surface facilities. This is known as the <br />main topsoil stockpile and will be used during reclamation to cover the majority of the <br />disturbance to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. Other topsoil and subsoil piles are located south of the <br />lower refuse pile and on the reclaimed benches. These piles will primarily be used to cover the <br />refuse pile with 18 to 24 inches of soil. <br />36 <br />