GENERAL54341

• Permit No: C1981034
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 4/17/1991
• Doc Name: Midterm Review Findings Document
• Permit Index Doc Type: Findings
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

application to continue coal mining at the Red Canyon Mine was
submitted to the Division on February 17, 1981. A four year permit was
issued on July 13, 1984 for Red Canyon No. 1 Mine and a proposed No. 2
Mine. The permit was approved with nine stipulations and three OSM
conditions. Bonding was set at E190,000. The permit approved the
underground mining of the "D" and "E" coal seams of the Mesaverde
Formation. The "E" seam is 100% privately owned whereas ownership of
the "D" seam is 4% federal and 96% private. The underground mining
plan was of the room and pillar type, with an extraction rate of 50-55%
in order to minimize subsidence. The permit approval included a
loadout facility at Delta, Colorado. The Red Canyon Mine went into
temporary cessation on April 19, 1983.
~A midterm review was completed on July 14, 1986. This review agreed
with the operator that the subsidence monitoring program could be
reduced and eventually eliminated after two years if no subsidence was
detected:' The hydrologic monitoring was also reduced as a result of
this review. The E190,000 bond was not altered. Reclamation of the
mine site was underway at the time of the 1986 midterm review.
Reclamation included soil stabilization seeding of the refuse pile and
other disturbed areas at the mine site. Mine facilities were still
standing, and surface features such as roads and drainage items
remained. Reclamation work at the Delta loadout involved the seeding
of 5.25 acres in 1984.
A permit renewal for reclamation with no further mining was approved on
July 29, 1988. The Findings Document for the permit renewal stated
that all previous stipulations had been met, subsidence monitoring was
discontinued while in temporary cessation, but that hydrologic
monitoring was continuing. The Delta loadout had been fully reclaimed
in June 1987, compatible with its former industrial function. The
Phase One Bond Release for the loadout was completed June 9, 1987 and
the required bond was changed from E190,000 to E185,000.
Some potential groundwater impacts were discussed in the 1988 Findings
Document for the permit renewal. Initially, when the mine was active
and being pumped, drawdowns in the coal aquifers were anticipated to
extend for several miles from the mine site. Now, with the cessation
of mining activity and the sealing of the portals, the water in the
flooded mine workings could become more saline and sodic. Degradation
of water in surrounding wells that are hydraulically down gradient
could result. It was noted, however, that no wells in the area
received water solely from the coal seam. It was also noted that the
waste disposal site and the other reclaimed areas could develop a
shallow spoil aquifer carrying relatively more saline water. However,
the disposal site is not in direct contact with the alluvial/glacial
outwash aquifer which overlies much of the area. Movement of this more
saline ground water within the coal and spoil aquifers beyond the
reclaimed areas would be limited.
The 1988 Findings Report also examined the effects of mining on the
surface water system. During mining activity, mine dewatering could
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