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:; <br />stated that MSHA's gas readings taken at various locations in the vicinity of <br />the shaft and backfilled portals indicated the fire was fully extinguished by <br />around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, December 4. The dirt moving in <br />progress at the time John and I were on site was for construction of a ramp <br />up to the top of the frame to allow for the frame to be filled in with dirt over <br />the top of the concrete. This will be completed within the next day or so. <br />Ultimately during final backfilling of the portal decline, the entire frame <br />structure will be buried in place. <br />One of the phone messages I had received was from Steve Renner, of the <br />DMG AML Program. Steve went out to the site Tuesday afternoon, in <br />response to a phone call from Henry Austin of OSM (who had been <br />contacted by Bruce Fowler of BLM). Steve observed that concrete had <br />been poured into the fan shaft frame structure, and also reported a crack to <br />the east of the frame structure, along the base of the gunnite coated <br />highwall, which he described as "venting vigorously". <br />Tonya indicated that this crack had developed immediately behind the <br />concrete retaining wall over the backfilled portals. She described the crack <br />as having been approximately 15 feet long by a foot or so wide, and said <br />that it had been filled in with dirt as directed by MSHA. I'm not certain <br />when the crack was filled, but sometime after Steve observed it Tuesday <br />afternoon. In the second photo, I'm standing at the east end of where the <br />crack had been, with the filled crack area and retaining wall visible between <br />me and the fan shaft frame. <br />John Barton seemed to be satisfied that the fire/explosion hazard was <br />being properly ameliorated by the work accomplished and in progress. <br />John indicated that methane will continue to escape from the workings and <br />vent to the surface, even when the decline has been fully backfilled. But as <br />long as there is no exposed opening or enclosed structure (such as the fan <br />shaft frame) within which methane concentrations can build to dangerous <br />concentrations, this would not present a hazard. I asked John whether a <br />concrete blockwall type seal would have been preferable to the dirt plug <br />backfill seal used by PCC for the North Portals, and he indicated that it <br />likely would not have made much difference, that the methane would find <br />an escape route regardless. <br />PCC had requested that they be granted reclamation cost "credit" for <br />having sealed the North Portals, within the Phase 1 bond release <br />