Laserfiche WebLink
Downstream of the undisturbed aspen grove, the main valley drainage re-enters land disturbed by <br />mining activity. The channel is designated YPM 6-2. The steep tributary YPM-7 enters the upper <br />end of YPM 6 from the northeast at the disturbance boundary. YPM-7 was included in the SL-2 <br />release request area, but it had been severely eroded by spring runoff in 2009. Rough grading had <br />been completed along YPM-7, but channel shaping and liner installation had not been completed <br />Downstream of YPM-7,channel shaping has not been completed and liner has not been installed. <br />SCC had excluded a narrow corridor along the YPM 6-2 channel extending down to the large "Pond <br />12 slide" exclusion area. <br />There is a temporary maintenance road that extends from the Section 17/20 boundary near the north <br />end of the YPM-7 drainage, crosses over to the north side of YPM-7 north of the aspen grove, and <br />then continues to the west through the lower south facing slopes of the YPM 6-2 drainage, into the <br />"Pond 12 slide" area. The maintenance road alignment was excluded from the SL-2 release request by <br />SCC, but slopes adjacent to the road were included. There are rilled road run-out channels in <br />locations between the road and YPM 6-2 that require maintenance. There is a scraper road that <br />extends across the south facing slope north of the maintenance road, diverging from the maintenance <br />road a couple hundred feet west of the YPM-7 crossing, and extending up to Topsoil Stockpile "L" on <br />the ridge northeast of Pond 012. The scraper road was included by SCC in the SL-2 release request <br />area. The scraper road will continue to be used for at least the next year, during final remediation of <br />the Pond 012 slide area, and upon completion of that project the route will need to be graded to tie <br />into the adjacent terrain and prevent concentration of runoff, then will need to be topsoiled and <br />seeded. The scraper road and various features in the general vicinity are depicted on Photograph No. <br />6, a DRMS aerial photo taken 8/28/09. The Division believes it would be appropriate to exclude a <br />larger, contiguous block of land in the YPM-7 and upper YPM 6-2 watersheds, due to the extent of <br />on-going activity associated with scraper and other equipment access to the Pond 012 slide vicinity <br />and Topsoil Pile "L", as well as on-going and future reclamation and stabilization work associated <br />with the maintenance road, the scraper route, lower Channel YPM-7, and Channel YPM 6-2. The <br />lower section of YPM-7 is shown in Photograph No. 7 and an eroded runout channel from the <br />temporary road down to YPM 6-2 is shown in attached Photograph No. 8. These photos illustrate <br />that these locations do not meet the criteria for Phase I bond release. <br />The second exclusion area in the South Pit is described as Diversion 14A. This area not being <br />approved for Phase I bond release is shown on Figure 3b. <br />Diversion 14A was erroneously included by the operator in Phase 1 bond release application SL-2. <br />Inclusion of the diversion acreage in the Phase 1 release request was inappropriate, because the <br />diversion is temporary; it is not an approved permanent drainage feature, and will need to be removed <br />upon approval by the Division in accordance with Rule 4.05.2(2). The Division will exclude <br />Diversion 14A from. the proposed approval decision for Phase 1 Bond Release SL-2. <br />The length of temporary Diversion 14A was walked during a subsequent inspection on April 29, <br />2010. The diversion appears to be stable, intact and functional. The diversion intercepts disturbed <br />runoff from the southern perimeter of the reclamation in the Sage Creek watershed, and directs the <br />runoff to a natural drainage further north, which routes the runoff into Pond 14 (see permit Exhibit <br />13-12.1 in the PAP). Diversion 14A is shown in attached Photographs No.'s 9 and 10. <br />14