_INSPECTION - C1996083 ‎(39)‎

• Permit No: C1996083
• IBM Index Class Name: INSPECTION
• Doc Name: Inspection Report
• Inspection Date: 2/27/2008
• Email Name: JJD
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III. COMMENTS-COMPLIANCE
Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during the
inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection and the facts or
evidence supporting the enforcement action.
This was a partial inspection conducted by Joe Dudash and Marcia Talvitie of the Colorado DRMS.Bill Bear
represented the operator during the inspection. The mine area has received a lot of snow and,now,the snow is
melting rapidly. The ground is saturated and there is a lot of runoff.Many mine areas were muddy. The mining
in the B-6 panel is nearing completion. Because the B-7 panel development mining had been delayed in order to
deal with a bounce in the mine,the longwall will be shut down for up to two months until the development
mining in the B-7 longwall panel can be completed.In the meanwhile, continuous miners will mine some coal
for shipment.
Hubbard Creek Vent Shaft Pad
The Hubbard Creek road leading to the pad construction site was very muddy but was passable. Bowie
Resources was bringing gravel to the site to upgrade the road condition. The pad itself was also very muddy.
However,no mud was going offsite.The snow on the road adjacent to the pad had been graded to the Hubbard
Creek side of the road and covered the silt fence that had been previously installed there.Notches had been cut
into the snow berm and straw bales were installed at each of the notches.In this way,the snowmelt was draining
off of the road without carrying mud with it.The rest of the shaft construction site was covered in snow.
Before the shaft construction begins,the operator wants to block ground water movement in the immediate area.
To do this,the operator has drilled eight holes in a ring around the proposed location of the vent shaft and has
injected cement into each hole. At least four more holes are planned.Because room is needed on the pad for the
shaft drill rig,the rock protection berm construction will have to be completed after drilling the shaft.
Main Mine
Due to the recent snowmelt and subsequent ground saturation,the cut slope above the B-seam portal bench
began to slump. The earth movement started to push out the portal metal support ribs.The operator was in the
process of repairing the portal supports. The operator was also removing the slumped material and was trucking
it to the B-seam excess material storage stockpile.Ultimately,the operator wants to realign the paved haul road
above the B-seam portal bench so that there will be room to reduce the bench cut slope angle for stability.
There was a large volume of coal stockpiled on the D-seam portal bench and on the coal stockpile bench
adjacent to the highway, in anticipation of the longwall down time. In spite of the muddy conditions,no coal or
mud was being tracked onto the highway, nor was there any problem with fugitive dust.Pond B had a large
volume of water in it due to the rapid and very recent snowmelt. The operator will be discharging the pond
water very soon. The mine ID sign was up at the mine entrance. Surface disturbance markers were also up.
The gob pile haul road was muddy in spots but was passable.Ditches in the gob pile area were being cleaned.
Pond C was discharging clear water while pond D had a little standing water in it.Pond F had a fair volume of
water in it. The pond F discharge pump was in place. The gob pile outslope was clear of snow and was stable.
Unit Train Loadout
There was an unloaded unit train at the loadout but no loading operations were taking place. There was no sign
of fugitive dust at the loadout. The mine ID sign was up at the entrance. Surface disturbance markers were also
up around the site.Ponds J and K only had snow in them. The loadout bench outslope was clear of snow and
appeared to be stable.
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