2010-06-14_REVISION - C1994082 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Neck Pit and LU3A Corridor For the purposes of SL-2, this area includes the reclaimed Haul Road "D" corridor (discussed previously in Section. I), and all disturbed lands located to the north of the Section 18/19 and Section 17/20 boundary lines, with the exception of the North Pit area, which is addressed separately in this report. The release request area includes reclaimed slopes and reclaimed drainage channels along either side of permanent road LU3A, and additional reclaimed areas south of the southern end of LU3A to the Section. 17/20 boundary line. SCC did not include certain locations within the general area in the SL-2 Phase I request, including the road travel surfaces as previously described, an area east of LU3A and south of YPM-11 that had been used for dragline disassembly and was only recently reclaimed, the substation location west of LU3, and a narrow corridor for YPM-20, which had not yet been constructed at the time the SL-2 application was prepared. The Division believes that certain additional areas should be excluded as described below. These exclusions include two topsoil stockpiles long the LU3A corridor near the north end of the Neck Pit block, and a major portion of the YPM-8 watershed in the southern portion of the block. Topsoil Stockpile "C" located north of the substation site is fully intact, while a portion of Topsoil Stockpile "B", located near the former explosives storage area west of the permanent road in the Pond 10 vicinity, has been only partially used up. These topsoil stockpiles do not conform to AOC requirements and additional soil from the stockpile locations will be needed for future reclamation or erosion repair. The Topsoil Stockpile B and C locations are shown on Figure 3a. Topsoil Stockpile B is shown in Photograph No. 11 and Topsoil Stockpile C is shown in Photograph No. 12. Regarding the YPM-8 watershed, a portion of the watershed upstream (south) of the point where YPM-8 crosses the temporary maintenance road 1300 feet north of the 17/20 section line, has been substantially disturbed since the July, 2009 SL-2 inspection by construction of an earthen dam erosion control structure. The YPM-8 channel itself, downstream of the road crossing has been substantially eroded the last two years following initial construction. SCC implemented measures in 2009 to prevent recurrence of erosion along the channel and downstream (including the erosion control structure, increased width of the YPM-8 TRM lined channel, use of staked willow wattles to slow and direct flow, and construction of an "ice jam overflow channel" adjacent to the main channel. These measures are expected to be effective, but given the recurrent erosion problems in the watershed, the Division believes it would be prudent to withhold Phase 1 bond release until the effectiveness of the installations can be observed following runoff season. The YPM-8 watershed exclusion area is specifically described as follows: YPM-8 watershed exclusion area boundary line would extend due west from the north edge of the YPM-8 corridor crossing of the temporary maintenance road, then generally south following the disturbed area boundary to the Section 17/20 boundary, then due east along the section line to the northern end point of permanent road LU3B, then northwest along the outside edge of the temporary road (extension of LU3B) to the south edge of the YPM-8 road crossing, then due east to the disturbed area boundary, then northwest following the disturbed area boundary to the north edge of the YPM-8 disturbance corridor, then southwest along the channel corridor to the point of origin. The excluded area of the neck pit associated with the YPM-8 watershed is shown on Figure 3b. The location where YPM-8 crosses the temporary roads and a portion of the YPM-8 watershed is shown 15