GENERAL53747 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~. • • iii iiiiiiiiuiiiiii STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Depanmem o! Natural Resources 1713 Sherman 51., Room 215 Denvcr, Colorado 80201 Phone 17031866J567 FA%: (3011 8 7 2-8106 February 28, 1994 Dr. W.D. Corley, Jr. The Corley Company P.O. Box 1821 Colorado Springs, CO 80901 Re: Responses to Inquiries Regarding Mine Waste Disposal The Corley Company, The Newlin Creek Mine, Permit No. C-81-045 Dear Dr. Corley: ~~~ DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE` Rny Rumcr (,uvr~nnr Ren Salazar E~ecmi.e DireOw m~chael B tong Dkisinn Dvec mr The Division has reviewed The Corley Company's requests for information regarding the 1982 disposal of excess coal mine development waste from the Newlin Creek Mine into the GEC Minerals, Inc. GEC Strip Mine. We wish to provide the following responses: 1. The Corley Company's letter of September 7, 1993 stated that "Harrison Western was given permission to put its waste onto our land without a permit or bond." This statement is somewhat incorrect. Harrison Western, operating as the permittee of the Newlin Creek Mine as Harrison-Peltron Joint Venture (HPJV), received approval of a minor revision to its permit to dispose of excess mine development waste from the Newlin Creek Mine into an area within the GEC Mine permit area. This approval was granted by the Division in 1981, with the waste to be disposed of into the Orphan Pit and North Orphan Pit in Section 24, T20S, R70W. In November of 1981 ,GEC and HPJV entered into an agreement allowing for this disposal. At the time of the approval of this minor revision, HPJV's permit associated with the Newlin Creek Mine was Permit No. 76-05, and GEC Minerals, Inc.'s permit for the GEC Strip Mine was Permit No. 77-48. At the time of the approval of the Newlin Creek Mine minor revision, GEC Minerals had two bonds in place totalling $391,000.00. These bonds were Hartford Accident and Indemnity's Bond No. 4312804 (566,440.00) and First National Bank and Trust of Oklahoma City's Bond No. 54212 (5324,560.00). 2. The Corley Company's letter of September 7, 1993 also stated that "Harrison Western was found by Fremont District Court to be responsible for starting the underground fire in Section 24" and that "Harrison Western should reimburse the costs incorrectly paid by the Federal funds" spent trying to extinguish that fire. Whether Harrison-Peltron Joint Venture in fact caused the fire in 1982 would not be a reason for the Division to seek reimbursement for the costs from Harrison Western. When- ever mine permits are transferred to a successor operator, it is the successor operator that becomes liable for disturbances associated with that mining operation, regardless of