2009-03-13_REVISION - C1981028 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINOR REVISION NO. 43 As evidence of its intent to transition the Keenesburg Mine, from a surface coal mining operation to a reclamation site, Coors Energy Company (CEC) submitted, and received approval for Technical Revision No. 20 (2/27/89). This technical revision allowed for a variance from contemporaneous reclamation of the Keenesburg Mine for an initial period of five years. It also acknowledged CEC's plans for the backfilling of A-Pit, for the remediation of two irrigation sumps, and for the further fill work necessary to finish the reclamation of B-Pit. What was not recognized in Technical Revision No. 20 was the quantity of long-term spoil required to complete all of these reclamation tasks versus the quantities of long-term spoil available at the Keenesburg Mine site. When it submitted Minor Revision No. 24 (3/3/94), CEC sought approval for the redesign of the remaining pits (A-Pit and B-Pit) to accept the disposal of ash from the then Coors owned power plant in Golden, as part of the reclamation process. The reclamation activities were to proceed in a manner that included both removal of coal related facilities and reclamation of the two pit areas. Reclamation was to be accomplished by the continuous filling of the two pits with ash, commensurate with the availability of ash from the Golden power plant. When filled, the pits would be covered with spoils and topsand, followed by the application of soil amendments and final seeding. Consistent with this approach, additional five-year variances have been asked for and approved as Minor Revisions 36 and 40. With this submittal of Minor Revision No. 43, CEC is requesting a further extension of the variance from the 180-day rule for contemporaneous reclamation. This request for variance focuses only on the B-Pit area, since the A-Pit reclamation work was complete by the end of 1999. Further, all of the specifically coal related facilities and equipment have been salvaged, converted, or removed from the site. The single exception is a "blast hole drill" which is being dismantled and salvaged as time allows. Finally, Sedimentation Pond No. 2 and the perimeter ditches have been designated "permanent features", and the roads once used to support mining operations are being removed and reclaimed as quickly as the areas they previously accessed are themselves fully reclaimed. The remainder of B-Pit is designed and permitted for the disposal of ash and mine waste rock (MR# 34, 08/98). CEC now estimates it will require another approximately 797,240 banked cubic yards of material (ash or mine waste rock) to codiplete the reclamation process. [This number is consistent with MR# 40 but at variance with the MR# 36 submittal. A review of the Annual Hydrology and Reclamation Reports, for the years 1999 through 2003 confirms the orderly, consistent progression of the fill activity.] At the present rate of ash generation for disposal, the reclamation of B-pit is forecast to require an additional ten + years. Based on the information presented, CEC requests the Division's approval of this Minor Revision No. 43, to further extend the variance from the 180-day rule for contemporaneous reclamation, and for an additional five-year period, commencing March 3, 2009.