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<br />. 173[A 46-90, 96-91 <br />and 34 S., R. 67 W., Sixth Principal. Meridian, Las Animas Ootmty, Colorado, <br />in which BRI owned or leased the mineral estate. This inc7.vded about <br />153 acres of ].and subsequently prurhaaed by the Tatums in 1988 lmawn as <br />the "Solitario Ranch," part of which overlaid an alluvial valley floor <br />(AVER of the Rugatoixe River. 7n order. to prevent subsidence of the land <br />surface fztm oecurrislg within the AVF, aRI's permit specified an extraction <br />rate of no meme than 50 percent of the material underlying that ].and by the <br />yarn and pillar method. ffitI was otherwise permitted to enr~e in longoa7l <br />mining. - <br />in May 1988, BRI proposed to extend its existing t¢rdergrormd coal <br />mining operations (}mown as "First North Main") in the M~nup11 Ca37. sears <br />of the Ratan Formation, within its permitted area, northeast under the <br />Colorado arrl.Wyaniny Railroad right-of-way, the Purgatoire River,, anl.the <br />right-of-way for State Highway 12, thereby crossing unr]er the tract of land <br />owr~t7 by the Tatums, which is bisected by the highway and the river. That <br />tract of land contasrLS an adobe horse, part of. which dates frun the early <br />1900'x, which is located south of the river and the highway and nortlreaet <br />of the railroad. 2/ , <br />At the titre HRT proposed to extend its operations, the First North <br />Mash waridngs were located 2,150 feet scut2wrest Of the Tatu<ns' horse. <br />BRI initiated room and pillar mining aperatiasrs t~*++a-~th the Tatums' <br />property in May 1988. That operation involved oonstrvction of 18-foot- <br />wide, 7.5-foot-high entries, s~uxvrariing 80-foot-square Pillars. However, <br />this mining ceased in July 1988 when productivity decreased and it became <br />rra~nadc to cantirnie mining. <br />Rana7d K. Ttx a ERI arglayee who camtenoe3 work for the earpaity.. <br />in February 1990, explained, in d Deoerrber I0, 1993, deposition, that he <br />understood that water had acctinnilated in the workings, softening the mine <br />floor affi slowing operations. (Deposition at 27.) Ae stated that the mine <br />was later sealed off and filled with Dater, thus preveatina3 access. ~. <br />at'4. <br />Oti Bloveaber 27, 1990, LHG approved T1?chrtical Revision No. 75 to H2I's <br />perrrdt, which provided for drilling a 10- to 12-foot diameter airshaft <br />("NW-1 Shaft") to•a depth of 590 feet.iri sec. 19, T. 33 S:, R. 67 W., .Sixth <br />2 The house Yras plaster interior walls and a wire-mesh reinforced oan~-t <br />stucco coating on the exterior. The eastern third of the horse has two <br />stories and the ~+*+~o*' is one story high. These is a partial basement <br />under the western thud of the house, which was added sometime after oan- <br />structian of the rest of the hawse. The rertassder of the house is under- <br />laid by a shallaa crawl space. At the western e~ of the hwae, there is <br />a short flagstcrne-covered bxeezeaay which rune south to a two-car garage. <br />Sn the center of the overall L-shaped configuration of the horse, breeze- <br />.. way, and garage .is: a. gardrn,. enclosed by; a :].ow. adobe, wall. <br />._.. <br />7.51 ]>iLA 288 <br />