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Background: The Staley Gordon Mine was a small underground coal mine dating back to 1936. It is located in Rio Blanco County near the town of Rangely. Surface facilities were located near the White River in the bottom of Scullion Gulch. ' Production was sporadic up until 1972. Coal was mined by room-and-pillar methods to supply local home and commercial heating needs as well as to supply an electric generating station in Rangely. The surface facilities included ~ several buildings, truck loadout, scale, production portal, and ventilation portal. Rights to the coal leases were assigned to Blue Mountain Energy, Inc. (then named Western Fuels-Utah, Inc.) in 1980. Mining was initiated at the Deserado Mine D-Portal Area in 1983 located about 1 %2 miles northwest of the Staley Gordon Mine. Underground development progressed toward the old mine with a breakout of the ventilation portals located adjacent to the Staley Gordon portals in 1984. The workings of the two mines were never connected. The prior operators left behind much of the old equipment and buildings including transformers and capacitors containing PCBs. Several of the transformers had leaked and contaminated soils within the area. Buildings were in disrepair creating a potential public hazard. nth the development of the ventilation portals, BME removed most of the old buildings and equipment. PCB contaminated equipment and soils were removed and sent off-site for proper disposal. Storage areas for commonly used supplies were developed to supply the eastern portions of the Deserado Mine. Runoff and sedimentation for these areas and the majority of the Staley Gordon disturbances were controlled through a series of ditches and ponds. Surfaces were graveled to reduce erosion. With the development of the site for use by the Deserado Mine this area became known as the East Portal Area. Mining continued in the D-seam of the Deserado Mine through 1999. During its decommission, a spontaneous combustion "heating incident" was detected from within the mine. Entries into the D-seam portion of the Deserado Mine were promptly and permanently sealed in 2000 in conjunction with this incident. Materials and supplies left at the surface of the East Portal Area were moved to the D-Portal Area. Detailed design of the final configuration of the site was initiated in 2000. While much of the site was disturbed pre-law BME elected to restore the site to approximate conditions pre-dating any mining. Major earthwork activities were initiated in 2001 to coincide with afall-dormant seeding. Blue Mountain Energy, Inca 1 Staley Gordon/East Portal Area