_INSPECTION - C1981019 (54) - Laserfiche WebLink

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July 19,2010 C-1981-019/Colowyo Coal Mine JRS ROADS—Rule 4.03 Construction 4.03.1(3)/4.03.2(3) Drainage 4.03.1(4)/4.03.2(4) Surfacing and Maintenance4.03.1(5)and(6)/4.03.2(5)and(6) Reclamation 4.03.1(7)/4.03.2(7): -Haul Road A was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. This road has basically been removed from service and has been replaced with the South Taylor Haul Road. Colowyo has used this road to walk the 103 dragline into the West Pit. -The South Taylor Haul Road was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. The road was being actively watered at the time of the inspection to control fugitive dust. -The Taylor Draw access road was stable at the time of the inspection. The entire length of the road,including the normally wet and muddy area by sump 5,was dry. There were a few small ruts in the road but they were not a problem. It was indicated that the road would be bladed later this summer or early this fall. -The Sturgeon access road was well maintained and stable at the time of the inspection. RECLAMATION SUCCESS -Rule 4.15,Rule 3: -The 2009 East Pit reclamation block remained stable at the time of the inspection. There were numerous small rills in the reclamation from the spring runoff that have all been repaired. These repaired areas also remained stable. -The 2009 West Pit reclamation showed some cracking along the old highwall area between the first and second contour ditch. There were a few areas where the crack was more than just a couple of inches wide and showed signs of settling. Colowyo will need to repair this area to ensure there are no erosional or stability problems due to water infiltration. These repairs will need to be completed before this winter. The remaining area remains stable. There were numerous small rills from the spring runoff in the 2009 West Pit reclamation that were repaired. All but one of these rills was repaired by filling the area in with soil. The remaining rill was filled with straw to see how it would respond and whether using straw would be a viable option for repairing rills in the future. -The majority of the West Pit Fill was walked on the inspection. The West Pit Fill was well vegetated and remains stable. There was a large stand of new thistle plants on the slope just south of the West Pit Pond. This is a location where there were a lot of thistle plants last year as well. There were also numerous individual thistle plants scattered throughout the reclaimed West Pit Fill area. The Division recommends that Colowyo walk these areas and spray these plants as necessary before they become a larger problem. There was also a large stand of cheatgrass located on the West Pit Fill in the area of reclamation blocks WP007 and WP010. This large stand was predominately cheatgrass and will need to be sprayed this fall and will need to be monitored and sprayed as necessary in future years. -The west portion of the Gulch A watershed reclamation was walked on the inspection(the area contained in the Partial Phase I and Phase II Bond Release SL-04). The area was well vegetated and stable and had good vegetative cover. The Division will be evaluating this area carefully for Phase I and Phase II Bond Release in late August or early September. SUPPORT FACILITIES -Rule 4.04: -Colowyo has moved the rock crusher from the area just north of the East Taylor Fill(C-C' underdrain area)to a location in the South Taylor box-cut. The rock crusher was moved so it would be closer to where the rock is Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 1 Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 0 Page 5 of 13