_INSPECTION - C1981038 (44) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

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. This was a Complete Inspection of the Bowie No. 1 Mine conducted by Marcia Talvitie and Sandy Brown of the Colorado DRMS on 15-16 April 2009. No one was available to represent the operator, Bowie Resources LLC, during the inspection. The West Mine, Well Field, Timber Storage Area,-and Ponds 3 and 4 were inspected during the late afternoon of the 15th. The Records Check, East Mine and Loadout inspections occurred on the 16th. Weather conditions on the 15th were cloudy. Overnight, snow fell throughout the North Fork valley. Ground conditions were muddy on the 16th; as a result, reclamation activities at the East Mine were shut down for the day. Availability of Records Records were available for viewing at the BRL office located at the Bowie No. 2 Mine. A completed "DRMS Availability of Records" form is attached. Roads • The East Mine Haul Road surface was graded from the gated entrance all the way to the uppermost bench. • The West Mine was accessible by vehicle, although there had been some winter rockfall on the road above the landslide location. Hydrologic Balance • Abatement measures performed in response to the violation in February (CV-2009-001) at the East Mine were functioning well, and had successfully prevented any sediment from leaving the permit area. In addition to those measures, the contractor had "pulled" the ditches all the way up to the equipment staging area, and installed fresh straw bales around the drop inlets. Several hundred feet of silt fence had been installed along the outside of the road berm, protecting the undisturbed area from any sedimentation that might otherwise occur. It was apparent that every effort has been made to ensure the protection of the hydrologic balance. • Pond W-1 was dry, and W-2 held a small puddle of water. Ponds 1 and 4 were dry, and there were muddy puddles in Ponds 2 and 3. The pond below the West Ridge Waste Pile appeared to be impounding a small amount of water. Strong flow in Stevens Gulch prevented access to the Timer Storage Area Pond. The Highway Pond contained water, but the Loadout Pond was dry. • Stevens Gulch was flowing with spring runoff, and the riprapped channel constructed in the latter phase of reclamation in 2008 was functioning beautifully (Figure 1). The riprap has been securely placed, and both sides of the channel are protected with silt fence from any potential influx of sediment from the reclamation work done above. The silt fence on the east side of the channel successfully trapped sediment that was eroded from a spot of concentrated flow just below the former Timber Storage access road (Figure 2). The Division observed that placement of wattles or straw bales at the bottom of the roadway (at the top of the steeper slope that drops away to the creek) might be an effective means of slowing the flow of water and preventing any loss of topsoil. Bowie No. 1 Mine C-1981-038 15&16-Apr-2008 -1-