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West Elk Mine <br />Shaft No. 3 and then vented. Some methane gas from the mine is used to heat mine <br />ventilation air at Ventilation Shaft No. 1, in a system completed in 2003. <br />MCC has designed mine dewatering and treatment facilities to be located within the Sylvester <br />Gulch drainage. The system consists of one 18-inch cased borehole, one 16-inch borehole <br />(completed as a 12-inch cased hole), and two 20-inch cased boreholes, completed during the <br />summer of 1997 to access the operational sump in the northeast comer of the IONE Tailgate. <br />Following the completion of ventilation seals on the l ONE and 11NE longwall panels, this area has <br />become the NE Panels Sealed Sump. MCC utilizes the sealed sump as a lazge volume mine water <br />storage azea and will pump the water out of the mine through one of the boreholes to Sylvester <br />Gulch. The smaller borehole will serve as a recirculation loop to the sump and the two 20-inch <br />cased boreholes will serve as alternate recirculation boreholes and/or boreholes for water level <br />indicators. Refer to the Probable Hydrologic Consequences section of the pemut for additional <br />discussion of the sumps. <br />An overhead 115KV high voltage transmission line supplies power to the substation located in <br />Sylvester Gulch. This feed line replaces the 46KV feed that was established in 1997. <br />Distribution power lines connect the substation to the two ventilation shafts, the Sylvester Gulch F <br />Seam fan, the electric borehole, mine dewatering pump station and the existing main mine facilities. <br />The substation located within the main mine facilities was abandoned in 1998, due to landslide <br />movement, and is discussed in a later section of this permit. <br />This electrical system meets the requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code, the National <br />Electric Code (NEC}, the National Fire Code, MSHA, and all applicable State _ or local codes. <br />Grounding and ground-fault-protection systems have been built into the electrical distribution <br />system according to Federal mine safety regulations. Raptor protection systems have also been built <br />into the electrical distribution system. Circuit breakers, lightning-protectors, and ample switching <br />points with the necessary transformers have been built into each substation. Branch-lines that lead <br />out to various loads are protected with breakers to prevent trip out of the main breaker and <br />shutdown of the entire operation if a fault occurs on a branch line. The protective breakers on the <br />branch lines are coordinated with the exception that the mine fans are to be connected to the main <br />distribution line ahead of other breakers. <br />A pager-type mine telephone system connects all working sections to the mine office. The system <br />uses the same surface corridors as the power distribution system where possible. It also has backup <br />battery powered pagers. Additionally, atwo-way radio system is also used at West Elk Mine. <br />This system is used on the surface and underground. <br />Because the mine site is steeply sloped, benches have been or will be constructed and several <br />azeas have been designated for the storage of materials and equipment. An access road loop will <br />be constructed to create an approximately 3 2/3-acre storage bench located east of the office <br />building employee pazking lot. An approximately 1/3-acre bench, referred to as the surface lay- <br />down area, was constructed between sediment pond MB-1 and the fresh water pond. The upper <br />and lower portal benches and the old Beaz Mine site are also designated for the storage of <br />materials and equipment. Other azeas, including neaz the warehouse, maintenance shop, surface <br />• shop, materials storage bench building, water treatment plant and along mine site roadways, and <br />2.05-2/ Revised Nwem6er 2004 PR70 <br />