2008-03-24_REPORT - M1977424 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Logan Wash Mine Annual Report Permit No.: M-1977-424 A storm-runoff stock watering basin was constructed at Area 10, the former Helo Pad, in 2004. The pond is to be used by a local rancher to water cattle. In 2005, a small flat area adjacent to the basin was being used by gas industry operators to park equipment. In the fall of 2005, OOSI reclaimed this area and constructed a security fence to prevent further disturbance. 2.2 Roads Table 2 refers to reclamation status of "Miscellaneous Access Roads" as described in the original permit. The acreage figures in the table are based on what acreage remains to be reclaimed as measured in the field. Field measurements for the "Mine Bench and Portal" roads indicate that 6.2 acres remain to be reclaimed at the end of the reporting period. The 6.2 acres of unreclaimed roads consists of 0.9 acres of the Lower Bench Road, and 5.3 acres of the Upper Access Road from the intersection of Logan Wash Road to the intersection of the Upper and Lower Bench Roads (the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and OOSI property boundary), 4,050 linear ft of which includes a 50-ft width due to outslope material that will need to be pulled back during reclamation. The Upper Bench Road has been reclaimed. As discussed in Section 6.0, the Upper Access Road acreage may be removed from the permit if a separate BLM right-of--way is acquired by OOGC to construct a gas well on the Lower Bench. Disturbed acreage associated with the Logan Wash Road or the "tramroad" was originally shown in the mine permit to be 53.43 acres. BLM records show that subsequent amendments to the right-of--way (COC-223027) resulted in aright-of--way of 58.6 acres; however, it is not clear that this was the actual disturbance. BLM records also indicate that the original right-of--way includes all of the Upper Access Road up to the BLM-OOSI property boundary near the intersection of the Upper and Lower Bench Roads. The acreage amounts for roads (Area 13) in the original permit appear to include the acreage associated with the Upper Access Road. 2.3 Structures Vaults, Pipelines, and Evaporation Pond Structures that remain on site include two vault structures, one on the Lower Bench and one on the Research Mine Bench; a capped and vented ventilation shaft; the retort water pipeline; and the evaporation pond and associated detection vault. See Figure 2 for the locations of these structures. The two bench vaults are concrete structures with exposed surface access-ways constructed at grade. These structures will remain as permanent structures on the mine site to manage and monitor mine water drainage. Other subsurface structures include the Research Mine drainage pipeline, the L-1 mine water pipeline, the retort water pipeline, which extends from the sealed L-1 portal to the evaporation pond, and several monitoring wells. Two manholes on the retort water pipeline, the Upper Manhole and Lower Manhole, are accessed periodically to measure pipeline flows. Other manholes exist on the retort water pipeline that are buried by shallow colluvium and vegetative litter, and have not been accessed in recent years. In 2006, OOSI, at the request of DRMS, prepared and submitted Amendment No. 1: Retort Water Pipeline and Evaporation Pond. Although these structures were permitted by the BLM and Garfield County and constructed in 1984, for unknown reasons the structures were not incorporated into the existing mine permit even though they have been in continuous use since construction. OOSI is currently in the process of addressing additional adequacy issues submitted by DRMS. Because the amendment has not formally been approved by DRMS, the retort water pipeline and evaporation pond will not be addressed as disturbed acreage in this annual report. Western Water & Land, Inc. 2