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The Deserado Mine is an underground operation utilizing both continuous miners and longwall <br />mining equipment to extract the "D" (upper) and "B" (lower) coal seams. Mining operations <br />conducted during previous permit terms have extracted the D seam. D seam mining was <br />completed, and B seam mining commenced in 1999, and will continue during the current permit <br />term. <br />Raw coal is transported out of the mine by conveyor to the DB-Portal Area wash plant where the <br />coal is crushed and cleaned. The coal is then transported 3.1 miles to the rail loadout facility via <br />an over-land conveyor system. The coal is conveyed to the slot storage building, which can store <br />up to 25,000 tons of coal. From this building coal is conveyed one third of one mile to the <br />loadout azea. Clean coal is then transported by rail to the Bonanza Power Plant in Vernal, Utah. <br />The rail loop and facilities within the rail loop were removed from the pernut and the reclamation <br />plan with the approval of Permit Revision 04. The loadout tower will remain in the permit and <br />reclamation plan as will all of the structures that convey the coal to that point. Blue Mountain <br />Energy will keep all operations related to the mining operations and the loading and transport of <br />coal sepazate. The decision to remove the rail loop and associated facilities was based on 1BLA <br />decision 94-366. <br />Coal processing waste generated at the wash plant facility is trucked approximately 3.6 miles to <br />the refuse disposal azea located east of the rail loadout in the northeast portion of the permit azea. <br />The refuse disposal azea includes eleven subareas of refuse deposition. The first subazea (RP-1) <br />was reclaimed in late 1990, implementing a revegetation study that involved variations from the <br />required four feet of cover. Combined Refuse Area RP-2/3/4, and the adjacent Refuse Area RP- <br />SAaze currently active, and the remaining subazeas have yet to be developed. Noncoal solid <br />wastes aze hauled to anoff-permit landfill by a contract trash service or aze disposed of at the <br />Halandras landfill in the northwest portion of the permit azea. The first six pits of that dump <br />have been reclaimed and pits 7 and 8 aze active. <br />Refuse and landfill areas and degas well pads aze reclaimed contemporaneously. Certain facility <br />azeas used during initial mine construction have been reclaimed and a few additional facilities <br />will be reclaimed during the life of the operation if they no longer have operational utility. Most <br />surface area disturbance will not be reclaimed until all mining has ceased. Mine related surface <br />disturbances to be reclaimed at that time include the DB-Portal azea facilities, water storage azea, <br />overland conveyors, slot storage azea, loadout azea, and the alluvial well field lagoon azea at <br />Scullion Gulch. All permitted access roads and the refuse haul road will be reclaimed. All light <br />use roads will be reclaimed, with the exception ofpre-existing roads used to access exploration <br />or de-gas drill sites, which BLM designates to be retained for post-mine use. With the exception <br />of the DB-Portal area sediment pond, all sediment ponds controlling runoff from various surface <br />facilities will be retained until vegetation on reclaimed azeas is sufficient to control erosion. The <br />D-Portal pond will be removed at the time of structural demolition and regrading of the facilities <br />azea. Alternative sediment control measures will be employed for the reclaimed facility azea. <br />19 <br />