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The CTL report does not discuss any instrumentation or monitoring programs. It is not clear <br />how long the 1993 landslide was monitored, what data was collected, or what that data <br />revealed. Additionally, it is not clear whether any groundwater-level monitoring has been done <br />at the site, and if so, what the data reveal. <br />The analysis model is simplistic and does not fully represent all of the conditions present that <br />may contribute to the slide. Bedding planes, rock-mass quality, extent of shear zones (CTL <br />states the fault zone may be 1500-6000 feet wide), fault gauge, clay seams, and effects of the <br />spoils were not taken into account in the model. For an adequate level of detail required to <br />develop a mitigation strategy, a much more detailed analysis is required. <br />The CTL report does not give detail as to how the strength parameters used in the analysis <br />were derived, other than they were "estimated and back-calculated." It is not clear what <br />assumed geologic conditions were used for these calculations. Some of the properties used do <br />not reflect typical ranges for materials that CGS would expect to see, for example Wylie & <br />Norrish (1996) show strength parameters for limestone with clay infillings to be in the 12-17° <br />friction angle range, and cohesions between 1700-2400 psf. The CTL values may be <br />representative, but without detail as to how they were derived, it is difficult to evaluate. <br />Comments on CTL Conclusions and Recommendations: <br />As stated above, a forensic stability evaluation was not done as part of the CTL report. The <br />CTL report only evaluated the stability of the existing rubble zone of the rockslide. The analysis <br />did not address future slope failures in the adjacent headwall blocks or rockfall that may impact <br />future activities at the quarry. To fully understand the potential factors leading to the slide, the <br />stability analysis should evaluate all the potential factors (slope geometry, buttressing effects, <br />loading of spoils, rock-mass conditions, effects from blasting, groundwater, etc). <br />CTL's conclusions are all qualified with rather nebulous terms and do not give a very confident <br />or precise determination as to the cause of the slide, the ongoing hazards present at the quarry <br />(particularly the headwall or upper block area), or mitigation strategies. <br />CGS disagrees that the landslide was solely triggered by high groundwater levels (refer to the <br />discussion above). As such, the material properties used by CTL are closer to, or lower than, <br />those stated for the "Lower" groundwater level. Without detailed rock core information, the <br />actual properties are merely a guess. It remains the conclusion of the CGS that the most likely <br />factor that contributed to the slope failure was the continued excavation and lowering of Area H, <br />which further daylighted the formation bedding dip slope along the base of the 1'/4:1 quarry wall <br />slope. <br />The CTL conclusion that the base of the slide may have moved along an unidentified clay seam <br />is conjecture only as there has been no evidence of a clay seam provided. The mine permit <br />indicates that the clay seam that was discussed as a possible slide surface for previous slides <br />had been removed prior to 2000. <br />CGS disagrees that the cliff portion of the southern scarp above the rockslide could be blasted <br />with explosives set into the upper scarp features. While rubblizing the cliff portion of the scarp <br />face to fall onto the existing rockslide rubble below would create a safer overall condition, we <br />don't see a practical construction method that would allow the safe drilling of the pattern of blast <br />4