_INSPECTION - C1981038 ‎(38)‎

• Permit No: C1981038
• IBM Index Class Name: INSPECTION
• Doc Name: Inspection Report
• Inspection Date: 2/25/2009
• Email Name: MLT
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE
Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made
during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection
and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action.
Reveaetation
• Near the railroad tracks, below the material storage areas, a few thistle rosettes were
beginning to show (Figure 7). In addition, on the southern side of the tracks, thistle skeletons
from the previous year were standing in the ditch (Figure 8), and a sizable patch of
knapweed was observed on the cut slope. BRL is encouraged to conduct a thorough
walking inventory of the site, in the next month or two, to identify the types and locations of
weeds that are present and to determine the appropriate weed control activities.
EAST MINE- 14:00
Roads
• The entrance to the East Mine from Stevens Gulch ("SG") Road is paved with asphalt as far
as the gate. A motor grader was parked immediately inside the gate, and had been used
for occasional plowing of snow from the haul road throughout the winter.
• All other pavement within the disturbed area was removed from the haul road during
reclamation activities conducted in the fall of 2008. Virtually all of the snow observed during
the January 2009 inspection had melted from the site. The gravel haul road surface was no
longer adequately "crowned" in some locations, and roadside ditches were not well
established (Figure 9). Various stretches of the haul road surface appeared to have been
eroded by recent snowmelt and/or rain (Figure 10).
• Light use roads accessing Ponds 1, 2, 3 and 4 were somewhat muddy, but passable.
Hydrologic Balance
• A thin layer of sediment had been deposited across the paved entrance to the East Mine
(Figure 11). The erosion and sedimentation were apparently the result of a precipitation
event that occurred on February 23rd (another coal mine in the area reportedly received
1.5" of rain on that date), two days prior to the inspection. The source of the sediment,
which included silt, sand and small gravel, appeared to be the unpaved haul road surface
uphill from the gate.
• The direction of sediment-laden flow was southwesterly, traveling across the paved entrance
and into the roadside ditch for SG Road, beyond the Disturbed Area Boundary. The SG
Road ditch parallels the road to the south for approximately 500 feet; enters a culvert that
crosses under SG Road; and discharges onto a slope that drops to Stevens Gulch (classified
as an ephemeral stream). Notice of Violation CV-2009-001 was issued for, "Failure to
minimize erosion and resultant siltation beyond the disturbed area."
• Fresh, wet sediment was observed in the SG Road ditch downstream from the paved mine
entrance. Near to the entrance, the ditch was nearly filled with sediment (Figure 12), but the
amount of sediment diminished with distance along the ditch (Figure 13), and was minimal
at the inlet to the cross culvert (Figure 14). Evidence indicated that the depth of flow in the
SG Road ditch was nearly one foot, and the width was approximately 5 feet.
• At the culvert outlet, on the west side of SG Road, there was little evidence of sedimentation
(Figure 15). The gradient there is steeper than that upstream of the culvert, which may°have
prevented any remaining sediment from settling out of the water. Due to steep terrain
(Figure 16), it could not be determined whether any sediment traveled as far as Stevens
Gulch, below.
Bowie No. 1 Mine C-1981-038 25-Feb-2009
.2.