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Surface Inspection <br />Stipulation 12 of the DMG Permit requires that surface inspections (pedestrian <br />• surveys) of the mining area be conducted in the spring and the fall of each year. As the <br />Division is aware, Powderhom Coal has experienced some turnover in its Engineering <br />Department. These changes were made throughout the year in an attempt to increase the <br />compliance with both on the ground matters and the required submittals to the Division. <br />After the change made in December, it was discovered that no pedestrian surveys had <br />been done during 1998. The author therefore did a pedestrian survey of both the North <br />and South Mine areas in December of 1998. The areas inspected during the survey are <br />shown on Figure 1, 1998 Subsidence Surveys. During the survey, 32 photographs were <br />taken to document the condition of the ground surface. The location and direction of the <br />photographs is shown on Figure 1. A brief description of selected photographs is <br />contained in Table 1. <br />No subsidence related features were noted during the pedestrian surveys. Though <br />minor cracking of the ground surface may not have been noticed because up to six inches <br />of snow covered the ground, it was apparent that no plug subsidence, major cracks or other <br />• °dangerous° subsidence related features existed. There has been no communication from <br />other landowners or utility companies that problems attributable to subsidence have been <br />experienced. <br />The area above the North Mine had patches of snow one to two inches deep on the <br />ground. Some portions of the area had no snow allowing direct observation of the ground <br />surface. The vegetation in the area is also quite sparse providing the observer an excellent <br />view of the ground. Subsidence is typically more prevalent in areas where second mining <br />has induced pillar failure. Only in those areas with overburden exceeding 1,000 feet was <br />sewnd mining been done at the North Mine. The high cover contributes to the limited <br />expression of the effects of subsidence on the ground surface. The route traversed was <br />directly over the area where the 4TH West panel was pillared. Particular attention was <br />given to those areas in the topography where slumps or cracks would be more apparent, <br />such as ridge lines. No subsidence features were noted in the area above the North Mine <br />that was inspected. <br /> <br />1998 Subsidence Page 3 12-31-98 <br />