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Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plans <br />The Edna Strip Mine is a surface mine utilizing area strip methods. During the remainder <br />of this permit term, mining and reclamation will occur in the Moffat area, and final <br />reclamation will take place in the West Ridge area. <br />Backfilling and grading are near completion on West Ridge after which topsoil will be <br />redistributed and the area graded, topsoiled and seeded. Previously mined and reclaimed <br />portions of the West Ridge Area will undergo a hydrologic reconstruction. The <br />reconstruction involves the installation of terraces and check dams in an effort to control <br />surface water runoff. The West Ridge project is scheduled for completion in 1995. <br />Mining of the Moffat Area will continue through this permit term. Reserves in the Moffat <br />Area will likely support mining through 2010. Mining in the area is progressing northward, <br />with a projected production rate of up to 500,000 tons of coal per year. <br />The mining process includes clearing of vegetation, topsoil removal, overburden blasting and <br />removal, and coal blasting and removal. Reclamation is contemporaneous with mining, and <br />includes backfilling, grading, topsoil redistribution, and vegetation reestablishment. <br />Vegetation is cleared utilizing a rotoclear system designed to incorporate plant material and <br />seed within the topsoil. Topsoil is removed well in advance of mining operations by scraper <br />equipment, and is then stockpiled or redistributed when possible. Overburden is blasted, <br />removed, and spoiled into the previous pit by dragline. Coal is ripped or shot, removed by <br />loader, and trucked to a conveyor system. The coal is conveyed to a crushing unit, crushed, <br />and transported off site by rail. Coal is not processed on site. <br />Spoiled overburden is graded to approximate original contour by bulldozers. All surface <br />facilities will be removed, except as approved. Topsoil is redistributed by scrapers (nine <br />inches at West Ridge, 11 inches at Moffat) and scarified. A cover crop is sown, followed <br />by the approved reclamation seed mixture. On a field trial basis, seeding in the Moffat <br />Area will be limited to 50 percent of topsoil replacement areas. The operator anticipates <br />that the redistribution of live handled rotocleared topsoil augmented by partial seeding will <br />preclude the need for two or more seed mixtures to achieve diversity standards. <br />Revegetation success will be determined by comparison to a reference area. <br />Impacts to surface and groundwater are mitigated and monitored. Surface runoff from <br />disturbed areas is channeled to sedimentation ponds located in each of the West Ridge, <br />Moffat, Center Ridge (mined in previous permit terms) areas, the warehouse and shop area <br />(Facilities Pond, to be constructed Spring 1994), and through a series of four ponds in the <br />tipple area. Surface water is monitored upstream and downstream of the mine in Trout <br />Creek, as well as at sediment pond discharge points. <br />na Mme 11 Yerm~t Kev~s~on No. <br />