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1 <br />West Elk Mine <br />Main Haul/Access Road Between Highway 133 and the intersection <br />of the Middle Mine haul/access road and the <br />Main haul/access road <br />Refuse Pile Expansion (RPE) Access from the Main haul/access road, across <br />Haul/Access Road Sylvester Gulch and to RPE area. <br />Sylvester Gulch Haul/Access Road Between main haul/access road and the <br />ventilation shafts site <br />As coal or coal mine waste may be hauled on the above roads, all of the roads have been designed, <br />constructed and certified as haul roads. These as-built certifications are provided in Exhibit 8A. <br />There are three roads that are considered access roads only. They are the Three-Sided Building <br />access road, the Portal access road, and the Materials Storage Bench access road. These roads have <br />been certified as access roads and the certifications are also provided in Exhibit 8A. <br />Vertical grades on the haul/access roads vary. The middle-mine haul/access road has an overall <br />grade of 5.68 percent. This road is paved. The new silo haul/access road has a maximum grade of <br />10 percent and is gravel-surfaced. The Sylvester Gulch haul/access road has been designed to have <br />an average grade of 7.6 percent with a maximum grade of 10 percent. This road is surfaced with 12 <br />inches of compacted Class 6 road base. <br />The mine roads require relatively little surface maintenance. Holes and ruts are patched in the early <br />stages with a cold mix of composition similar to the original road mix. In addition to pavement <br />maintenance on roads, maintenance operations include shaping and sealing of shoulders, cutting <br />back or chemically treating weed and bush growth, maintaining ditches and drains, removing litter, <br />and repainting stripes. Snow and ice removal during the winter months are a roadway maintenance <br />priority. Parking and side areas are similarly maintained for safe and efficient use. <br />Light-Use Roads <br />A gravel surfaced light-use road has been constructed around the southern and eastern perimeter of <br />the MB-2R sedimentation pond and around the base of the lower refuse pile for occasional <br />construction and maintenance equipment uses. Two short roads (approximately 150 ft. long) and <br />associated pads have been constructed from existing mine site roads to provide access: for <br />emergency repair and maintenance along the C-1 conveyor, to the water tank topsoil pile, to the <br />switchgear buildings above the portals, and to the power-poles located along the west side of <br />Sylvester Gulch Haul/Access road and north of the Sylvester Gulch F-Seam fan. When these roads <br />and pads are no longer required for operations, the roads will be graded back to approximate <br />original contour and reclaimed. The road between the ROM coal stockpile pad and the product coal <br />stockpile has been designated as a light-use road. The overall grade of the road is 7.6 percent. The <br />road is surfaced with asphalt or roadbase. An existing road in the Lone Pine Gulch area has been <br />widened and graveled as a light-use road to access the Lone Pine Gulch fan site. This road will be <br />left in place at final reclamation to allow continued access for the landowners and lessees of the area <br />and is consistent with the approved post-mining land uses of rangeland and wildlife habitat. Light- <br />use roads to the water tank and to the Sylvester Gulch high-voltage transmission line were <br />constructed in the Spring of 1997. Other light-use roads for the Sylvester Gulch Facilities Area <br />include the electric borehole road, the ventilation shaft #3 road, the degasification borehole road, <br />and the powerline light-use road. <br />2.05-25 Revised 11/04- PRIG; 03106- PR10; "V& PR10; 0506- PRIG; 05109- MR354