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STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866-3567 <br />FAX: (303) 832-8106 <br />February 11, 2009 <br />Harris D. Sherman <br />Executive Director <br />James E. Stover, P.E. <br />J.E. Stover & Associates, Inc. <br />P.O. Box 60340 <br />Grand Junction, CO 81506 <br />Re: Permit No. C-1981-038 - Bowie No. I Mine <br />Coal Mine Waste Bank Inspection Frequency <br />Dear Mr. Stover: <br />J <br />COLORADO <br />D I V I S I ON OF <br />RECLAMATION <br />MINING <br />SAFETY <br />Bill Ritter, Jr. <br />Governor <br />Ronald W. Cattany <br />Division Director <br />Natural Resource Trustee <br />The Division has received and reviewed the Bowie No. 1 Mine Coal Mine Waste Bank <br />Inspection Report for the 4th Quarter 2008, dated December 11, 2008. The report, <br />prepared and certified by you, purports to be the "Final Inspection" of the West Ridge <br />Waste Pile (WRWP). <br />As stated in the inspection report, coal mine waste hauled to the WRWP has been <br />covered with 4.0 feet of non-toxic cover, seeded, and mulched. While the southern <br />portions of the WRAP have been in completed for several years, the northern end did not <br />achieve its final configuration until the 2008 construction season, with the reclamation of <br />the R.O.M. storage area and the East Mine. <br />Rule 4.10.2(2)(a) allows the termination of quarterly inspections "when the coal mine <br />waste bank has been graded, covered in accordance with 4.10.4(5), topsoil has been <br />distributed on the bank in accordance with 4.06.4, and revegetated, or at such a later time <br />as the Division may require." <br />Given the fact that topsoil, seeding and mulching of the WRWP was accomplished only <br />last season, the Division is unable to find that the pile has been "revegetated". Similarly, <br />because of the recent construction, there has been insufficient time to determine the <br />erosional and geotechnical stability of the northern end of the WRWP. <br />Permit records reveal that cessation of quarterly inspections for the old waste pile at the <br />Bowie No. 1 Mine was approved through TR-46 in September 2005. Application for a <br />new Technical Revision to the permit may be made, once the West Ridge Waste Pile is <br />considered suitably revegetated and stable. <br />Office of <br />Mined Land Reclamation <br />Office of <br />Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines