2007-12-17_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981020

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Summary Current Operational Status The Munger Canyon Mine is a small, inactive, largely reclaimed underground mining operation located in western Garfield County, approximately 20 miles north of Loma, Colorado. Operational mine facilities included a portal bench located in an upper segment of Munger Canyon, and a small coal mine waste disposal area located further down the canyon. These facility areas were accessed by an access/haul road extending to the east from State Highway 139. The road, mine bench and four portals were developed in 1977, under a USGS exploration permit. Disturbed area associated with these facilities was approximately 10.8 acres. The mine was permitted under the interim program in July 1978 (Permit No. 78-57), and a permanent program permit (C-1981-020) was issued on January 12, 1983. There was limited coal extraction from the portals. Significant expansion of facilities and large scale mining was planned and approved in the early 1980's, but did not occur. In addition to the mine site portion of the permit area, a 5.6 acre rail loadout facility located in Loma, Colorado, was also permitted under Permit C-1981-020. The loadout facility was used infrequently, and the area disturbed by coal stockpiling and handling activity (approximately 2.9 acres) has been reclaimed. The mine was placed in temporary cessation in January 1984, and remained in temporary cessation for over 20 years. In October 2004, site preparation for the small waste disposal site to handle coal waste from the adjacent McClane Canyon Mine was initiated. Mine status was changed from temporary cessation to active, to allow development and periodic use of the waste disposal site. Proposed disturbance associated with the waste disposal site was 4.9 acres, of which approximately 3.5 acres were actually disturbed. In total, actual disturbance associated with the Munger Canyon Mine is approximately 18.8 acres. The four portals at Munger Canyon were sealed with MSHA approved concrete foam in 1992, at varying distances in from the openings. One of the openings had apparently been filled and covered over with soil shortly after sealing. The remaining openings were backfilled outby the seals in early July 2000, as verified in the Division's July 31, 2000 inspection report. Interim reclamation was conducted on the mine bench in the fall of 2001 and spring of 2002. Coaly material from the loadout was placed at the base of the portal bench cut slope, compacted, cover soiled and seeded with a stabilization seedmix. Site clean-up, grading, and seeding with a stabilization seedmix was conducted at the Loma loadout in November 2001. Maintenance grading and seeding to repair areas of caving over the backfilled portals was conducted in 2003 and 2004, and remedial seeding was conducted at the Loma Loadout in November 2004, due to failure of the initial seeding. The coal mine waste disposal area in lower Munger Canyon was approved under Technical Revision 14, and involved relocation of a segment of the Munger Canyon Road. Site construction and initial waste disposal occurred in the fall of 2004. Periodic haulage of coal waste from McClane Canyon Mine and disposal in the Munger disposal area occurred between late 2005 and the early summer of 2007. Final reclamation operations were initiated in 2007 in the mine area. Backfilling, topsoiling, and temporary seeding operations were completed at the mine portal area, the portal access road, the coal 4