_INSPECTION - C1981019 (47) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Colowyo C-1981-019 15 June 10 Pg 11/12 General Mine Plan Compliance (cont.): - The 102 dragline was in the West Pit working on the B ramp. **See pictures at the end of this report.** - The 103 dragline was in the West Pit removing B-Seam overburden. **See pictures at the end of this report.** - The 114 shovel operation was working on removing 131-Seam overburden in the South Taylor box-cut area. **See pictures at the end of this report.** - The 115 excavator operation was also working on removing B1-Seam overburden in the South Taylor box-cut area (it was in the same area as the 114 shovel). **See pictures at the end of this report.** - Colowyo was removing coal from the E2-Seam of the South Taylor box-cut by truck and loader. **See pictures at the end of this report.** - The 115 excavator operation was removing B1-Seam overburden in the South Taylor box-cut area. As stated above, the overburden material is being hauled to the final cut of the Section 16 Pit. Fish and Wildlife: - There were two large herds of cow elk (40+ in each herd) on the West Pit Fill, the East Pit reclamation and around the perimeter of the mine (by the perimeter ditches). Each cow had a calf with her. Air Resource Protection: - Colowyo was actively watering the haul roads at the time of the inspection so there was not a problem with fugitive dust. - Although Colowyo had fairly large coal stockpiles at the Gossard Loadout, they still appear to be within the parameters of their Air Emissions Permit, which allows 37 acres of coal stockpiles. Revegetation/Reclamation Success: - The 2009 East and West Pit reclamation areas are both stable and in overall good condition, as stated above in "Backfilling and Grading". There are a lot of annual weeds at this point (mostly field pennycress) but within the weeds there are also a lot of grasses. The Division did notice one area where some thistle was starting to grow (it was still too small to tell what species it is) in the 2009 East Pit reclamation area. It was noticed on the more flat area between the North Tributary, East Pit Ditch and the Prospect Ditch, The Division has the GPS location of this small patch and will monitor it on future inspections. Overall, the growth on the 2009 reclamation areas in the East and West Pits appears to be very uniform, with no large bare spots seen. **See pictures at the end of this report.** - Colowyo had their weed sprayer on site at the time of the inspection. He was spraying the outlying areas, including the areas around the Section 28 Pond and in Taylor Draw. Colowyo said that he would be on site for approximately two weeks and would get into the East, West and Section 16 Pit reclamation areas soon. While walking in the Gulch A reclamation the Division noticed three small patches of thistle starting to grow. As with the patch noted in the 2009 East Pit reclamation, they were too small to determine the species. The Division will continue to monitor these locations as well.