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South Basin Road Reclamation Project (2000). Removing dirt from the outside slopes of <br />Road B served two purposes; it achieved a portion of the goal of the overall road <br />reclamation concept for the site by narrowing the road from an average of sixty feet to <br />about a thirty feet average width, and it generated the dirt used to cover the waste rock <br />pile in preparation for revegetation. <br />The Rock Tunnel Waste Disposal Facility is located on privately owned property. Some <br />maintenance work was conducted on the facility in 1997. This work included re-seeding <br />and realignment of a runoff conveyance ditch located near the upper margins of the <br />facility. <br />Rock Tunnel Reclamation Proiect. The Rock Tunnel is a twin bore mine entry <br />constructed through non-coal bearing shale and sandstone, which eventually intersected <br />the working mines. Coal, personnel and materials were moved between the mine and the <br />surface via the Rock Tunnel. After abandonment, and prior to reclamation, the tunnel <br />drained at a constant rate from one of the twin adits. In 1995, the drainage was observed <br />to shift from the south to north tunnel and back again, appazently as a result of <br />underground blockages. <br />Reclamation of the Rock Tunnel consisted of placing a four feet diameter vylon (double <br />walled plastic) pipe into each mine entry. The pipe was bedded in a pea gravel bed, and <br />fixed in place using a low concrete footer at each mine entry. The northerly pipe <br />extended out of the entry, and turned south to join the southerly pipe, which extends <br />straight out of the entry. The outlet end of the pipe is anchored to the ground by a <br />concrete wall. A steel grate with a locking access door acts as a barrier at the terminus of <br />the pipe. A drainage ditch was constructed to convey the mine flow from the pipe to the <br />016 treatment ponds located below the Rock Tunnel Waste Pile. <br />The outlet portion of the pipes and the westerly portion of the Rock Tunnel entry <br />highwall were backfilled to a 2.SH:1 V slope. The backflll material was obtained by <br />excavating anover-steeped fill slope located adjacent to the North Fork of Dutch Creek. <br />The remaining portion of the highwall was to be backfilled, using the debris generated by <br />demolition of the Lamphouse as a base. However, Mid Continent Resources threatened <br />to sue DRMS if the Lamphouse were demolished. An environmental evaluation of the <br />site by DRMS concluded that there would not be any environmental damage if the <br />Lamphouse were left in place, and if the remaining highwall remnant was not completely <br />backfilled. As a result, DRMS determined to not pursue demolition of [he structure, and <br />to not complete highwall backSlling. <br />Following reclamation, the Rock Tunnel drainage continued to be routed to the nearby <br />016 sediment ponds for treatment. Subsequent to completion of the DRMS reclamation <br />work, Mid Continent Resources applied to the Colorado Water Quality Control Division, <br />the regulatory authority pertaining to mine water dischazges, to abandon the 016 sediment <br />treatment ponds. Ultimately, this approval was received and Mid Continent constructed a <br />