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<br />~• <br />-2- <br />According to the engineering analyses and certification provided on August 26, 1993, the statements <br />made at the Settlement Conference concerning the factor of safety were only proven to be correct <br />after the pond embardmrent was reconstructed. <br />Regarding the inquiry into the issuance of the topsoil salvaging and disturbed area drainage <br />Violation four months after mining operations at the mine had begun, the violation occurred only <br />after Rimrock Coal Company ceased operations and, as part of the facilities removal, disturbed an <br />area larger than previously approved for disturbance. The permittee not only failed to salvage the <br />topsoil from the disturbance (to be used for future reclamation) but also created the disturbance <br />outside of the area that drained into the mine's sediment pond, thereby allowing surface water runoff <br />from the disturbed area to enter Engleville Gulch untreated. As such, a Violation was issued. <br />The amount of civil penalties are established through a set of criteria outlined in the Colorado Coal <br />Rules. The amount of proposed penalty is determined by one of three Senior Environmental <br />Protection Specialists in the Division. An operator may contest the amount of civil penalty at an <br />informal Assessment Conference and at a formal hearing before the Mined Iand Reclamation Board. <br />Rimrock contested the amount of penalty in both forums, and succeeded in having the amount of <br />penalty reduced at each. <br />Regarding the timing of violation issuance, our records show that of eight violations issued to <br />Rimrock in the past eleven months, six were issued on an average of 9 days after the inspection. <br />Issuance of the remaining two were delayed due to a new employee's inexperience and because of <br />an emergency situation which developed at another mine. <br />Inspection Reports and Notices of Violation are delayed at this and other inactive sites because there <br />is no.company representative at the site. Further, delays in receiving correspondence may be <br />incurred because the permittee (Rimrock) and mine operator are different entities, and apparently <br />experience some difficulty in transferring information. <br />Thank you for your interest in the Coal Program. If you would like to discuss these issues or other <br />aspects of the Program in greater detail, please contact me. <br />Sincerely, <br />C~~, <br />Michael B. Long <br />1ivision Director <br />ce: Steven G. Renner, Coal Program Supervisor <br />m: \oss\scm\owens.ltr <br />y <br />