Laserfiche WebLink
STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />7313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866-3567 <br />FAX: (303) 832-8706 <br />May 2, 2002 <br />Jeff Pickett <br />Operations Superintendent <br />Williams Exploration and Production <br />16920 Highway 12 <br />Weston CO 81091 <br />Re: Golden Eagle Mine (Permit No. C-81-013) <br />Methane Leak at No. 1 Return Shaft <br />Dear Mr. Pickett: <br />DIVISION OF <br />MINERALS <br />GEOLOGY <br />RECLAMATION <br />MINING•SAFETY <br />Bill Owens <br />Governor <br />Greg E. Walther <br />Execmive Director <br />Michael B. Long <br />Division Direcfor <br />Jim McArdle of the Inactive Mines Program passed on your concerns to me about methane <br />leaking around the No. 1 Return Shaft at the reclaimed Golden Eagle Mine. Possibly I can <br />provide some additional information concerning the background and history of the site. <br />As you may know, this underground mine site was active until shutdown in early 1996 and <br />subsequently reclaimed. All shafts and portals were sealed in accordance with the Division <br />of Minerals and Geology (DMG) regulations and apparently as per amine-sealing plan <br />approved by MSHA. <br />Shortly after sealing, the mine operator, Basin Resources Inc. (BRI) was approached by the <br />gas operator (Stroud?) about converting 33 openings into the mine workings, mainly shafts <br />and boreholes, into gas production wells. BRI applied for a revision to the mining permit that <br />effectively modified the land use for the roads and gas extraction sites fo industrial use. <br />Industrial use areas are not subject to the extended (10-year) liability period for bond release. <br />This revision to the mining permit was approved in 1997. In 1998, BRI applied for and <br />received a bond release for the areas of industrial use at the site. One of the criteria that <br />DMG used to determine whether the industrial activity had commenced was that the proper <br />permitting of each site must be in place with the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission <br />(OGCC). <br />The API number for the site in question is 05-076414. Information indicates it is a 14-foot <br />diameter cement lined, vertical shaft that is 450 feet deep. The gas operator at that time <br />accepted all liability for the shaft, including any final sealing of the shaft that OGCC may <br />require. I know that the site was produced for a short period of time following the bond <br />release. I do not know why the site was abandoned, as were many of the other sites that <br />