2008-02-13_ENFORCEMENT - C1996083 (3)

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STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman St., Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 C O L O R A D O Phone: (303) 866-3567 D I V I S I O N O F RECLAMATION FAX: (303) 832-8106 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM MINING -&- SAFETY DATE: February l3, 2008 Bill Ritter, )r. TO: Ron Cattany Governor Harris D. Sherman n FROM: Joe Dudash J Executive Director Ronald W. Cattany SUBJECT: Bowie No. 2 i , Permit No. C-1996-083, Bowie Resources LLC Division Director Natural Resource Trustee Notice of Violation No. CV-2007-006, Extension of Abatement Deadline Beyond 90 Days Bowie Resources LLC(BRLLC) has requested an extension to the abatement deadline for Notice of Violation No. CV-2007-006 beyond 90 days. Rule 5.03.2(2)(c) of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining permits the Director to extend abatement deadlines past 90 days from issuance provided that one or more stated conditions apply. The abatement deadline is currently February 14, 2008. With your approval, I recommend that we extend the deadline to March 17, 2008. The extension will allow BRLLC to complete the required permitting to abate the violation. Notice of Violation CV-2007-006 was issued to the Bowie No. 2 Mine for failure to confine surface coal mining and reclamation operations to lands within the permit area. Topsoil-like material and excess rock had been transported from the Hubbard Creek vent shaft construction site to the Paonia Water Pollution Control Facility, which is not the approved plan. The topsoil-like material should have been stockpiled within the Bowie No. 2 permit area and the excess rock should have been transported to the Bowie No. 1 East Mine for permanent storage as approved in MR-83 for Bowie No. 2 and MR-119 for Bowie No. 1. NOV CV-2007-006 contained two abatement steps. The first abatement step required that the topsoil-like material be transported to an approved topsoil stockpile within the Bowie No. 2 permit area. This was accomplished so abatement step no. 1 was terminated. Abatement step no. 2 required that the excess rock be transported to the Bowie No. 1 Mine site, per the approved plan, or obtain Division approval through a technical revision to keep the excess rock at the Paonia facility. Bowie Resources elected the latter option and submitted Technical Revision No. 51. Bowie Resources promptly responded to the Division's adequacy review issues. However, additional time was needed for an outside laboratory to run a geochemical analysis to demonstrate that the excess rock was non toxic and non acid forming. Bowie Resources submitted the geochemical analysis to the Division but additional time is required for the Division to finish the adequacy review and make its proposed decision, publish in the local newspaper and wait for the 10 day public comment period to end. The specific rule that applies in this case is Rule 5.03.2(2)(c)(i), which states that abatement periods of more than ninety days may be allowed where the permttee "has timely applied for and diligently pursued ...necessary approval of designs or plans but such...approval...has not been or will not be issued within 90 days after a valid permit expires or is required for reasons not within the control of the permttee". Therefore, the Division requests that Bowie Resources LLC's extension request for the abatement deadline for Notice of Violation No. CV-2007-006 to March 17, 2008 be granted. Attached is an Extension of Time for Abatement Notice form for your signature. Please let me know if you need additional information. Attachment cc: Sandy Brown (without attachment) David Berry (without attachment) // fp fe2/nov200700690da extl Office of MineCB'Lan R' ~r~iation y Denver Grand Junction Durango Active and Inactive Mines