Laserfiche WebLink
July 19, 2010 C-1981-019/Colowyo Coal Mine JRS <br />ROADS - Rule 4.03 <br />Construction 4.03.1(3)/4.03.2(3) <br />Drainage 4.03.1(4)/4.03.2(4) <br />Surfacing and Maintenance4.03.1(5) and (6)/4.03.2(5) and (6) Reclamation 4.03.1(7)/4.03.2(7): <br />- Haul Road A was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. This road has basically been removed <br />from service and has been replaced with the South Taylor Haul Road. Colowyo has used this road to walk the 103 <br />dragline into the West Pit. <br />- The South Taylor Haul Road was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. The road was being <br />actively watered at the time of the inspection to control fugitive dust. <br />- The Taylor Draw access road was stable at the time of the inspection. The entire length of the road, including the <br />normally wet and muddy area by sump 5, was dry. There were a few small ruts in the road but they were not a <br />problem. It was indicated that the road would be bladed later this summer or early this fall. <br />- The Sturgeon access road was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. <br />RECLAMATION SUCCESS - Rule 4.15, Rule 3: <br />- The 2009 East Pit reclamation block remained stable at the time of the inspection. There were numerous small <br />rills in the reclamation from the spring runoff that have all been repaired. These repaired areas also remained <br />stable. <br />- The 2009 West Pit reclamation showed some cracking along the old highwall area between the first and second <br />contour ditch. There were a few areas where the crack was more than just a couple of inches wide and showed <br />signs of settling. Colowyo will need to repair this area to ensure there are no erosional or stability problems due to <br />water infiltration. These repairs will need to be completed before this winter. The remaining area remains stable. <br />There were numerous small rills from the spring runoff in the 2009 West Pit reclamation that were repaired. All <br />but one of these rills was repaired by filling the area in with soil. The remaining rill was filled with straw to see <br />how it would respond and whether using straw would be a viable option for repairing rills in the future. <br />- The majority of the West Pit Fill was walked on the inspection. The West Pit Fill was well vegetated and <br />remains stable. There was a large stand of new thistle plants on the slope just south of the West Pit Pond. This is <br />a location where there were a lot of thistle plants last year as well. There were also numerous individual thistle <br />plants scattered throughout the reclaimed West Pit Fill area. The Division recommends that Colowyo walk these <br />areas and spray these plants as necessary before they become a larger problem. There was also a large stand of <br />cheatgrass located on the West Pit Fill in the area of reclamation blocks WP007 and WPO10. This large stand was <br />predominately cheatgrass and will need to be sprayed this fall and will need to be monitored and sprayed as <br />necessary in future years. <br />- The west portion of the Gulch A watershed reclamation was walked on the inspection (the area contained in the <br />Partial Phase I and Phase II Bond Release SL-04). The area was well vegetated and stable and had good <br />vegetative cover. The Division will be evaluating this area carefully for Phase I and Phase II Bond Release in late <br />August or early September. <br />SUPPORT FACILITIES - Rule 4.04: <br />- Colowyo has moved the rock crusher from the area just north of the East Taylor Fill (C-C' underdrain area) to a <br />location in the South Taylor box-cut. The rock crusher was moved so it would be closer to where the rock is <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 1 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 0 <br />Page 5 of 13