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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE <br />Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during <br />the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection and the <br />facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. <br />This was a complete inspection conducted by Janet Binns of DRMS. The weather was cloudy, warm <br />and dry. The mine is a reclaimed surface mine. The mine site is dry, with no sign of recent precipitation <br />in the area. All snow has melted off the site. The office and load out areas on the east side of the ridge <br />have received final bond release and are no longer inspected. <br />Roads: Access to the reclaimed mine on the west side of the ridge was achieved through the northern <br />gate off of Routt County Road No. 179. The gate was open when the inspector arrived. A water <br />sampling contractor was leaving as the inspector was driving up the access road. The roads throughout <br />the reclaimed mine site were dry and drivable. No problems were identified with the permanent roads. <br />Ditch alongside West Ridge road had been rip-rapped in areas that had experienced previous down <br />cutting. This armoring of the ditch sides appears to have been effective to minimize additional scour of <br />the ditch. <br />Wildlife: A pair of Sandhill cranes was observed at the Moffat pond. They appear to be nesting of have <br />young nearby. The weed spraying contractor was placing a pump in the pond to extract water to mix <br />herbicide, and the pair of cranes became very agitated at his activity near the water's edge. The <br />contractor moved the location of his pump further north to attempt to placate the cranes. One brown and <br />white llama was seen on the southern extent of West Ridge reclamation area. This animal is believed to <br />be an escapee from a neighboring ranch. Marmots were active throughout the site. A cow and calf elk <br />were observed in the undisturbed aspen grove at the SE polfbn of the permit. Mountain bluebirds had <br />returned to the mine site. A small herd of Pronghorn were observed grazing on the southern portion of <br />the West Ridge reclamation. <br />Revegetation: A contractor, Habitat Management Environmental Services, was on site conducting weed <br />spraying. This is the same contractor that sprayed the area on September 28, 2009. Chris Keough was <br />the contact for the Habitat Management weed crew. He and a crew of two other men had scheduled to <br />be on site for 5 days. The contractor was focused on chemical control primarily on Canada thistle, Musk <br />thistle, Perennial pepperweed, Houndstongue, and Whitetop. These were the main species of concern <br />previously identified on the site. If any new noxious species were encountered during the weed control <br />operation, the contractor would take appropriate action on newly identified noxious species as well. <br />3 of 7 WHITE - File YELLOW - Operator PINK - Specialist