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PERMIT #: M-2001-056 <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: JLE <br />INSPECTION DATE: September 27, 2010 <br />OBSERVATIONS <br />This was a normal monitoring inspection of the Belveal Gravel Pit, DRMS File No. M-2001-056 operated by Elbert <br />County. This site is located approximately three miles west and twelve miles south of the town of Matheson, Colorado in <br />Elbert County. I, Jared Ebert of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division) conducted the <br />inspection. Mr. Jeremy McKnight of Elbert County accompanied me on the inspection. <br />This is a 9.9 acre 110c operation. According to Mr. McKnight, the County began operations here about a year and a half <br />ago. A 2.09 acre pit excavation is located at the northern end of the site. The haul road enters the pit along the northern <br />permit boundary. The Operator has created a circular shaped pit excavation by pushing the material down into the base of <br />the pit where it is stockpiled and loaded out of the site. The Operator is pushing the slopes of the excavation at a 3:1 <br />horizontal to vertical angle or less. Topsoil has been stripped in advance of mining and is stockpiled on the east side of <br />the excavation. The Operator is reminded if the topsoil is to remain stockpiled in place for longer than 180 days they will <br />need to stabilize it with vegetative cover in order to protect it from wind and water erosion as they committed to do during <br />the permitting process. <br />The mine entrance sign and permit boundary markers were in place at the time of the inspection. Land has been <br />excavated outside of the northern permit boundary and topsoil is stockpiled outside of the eastern permit boundary. Also, <br />a haul road leading into the site has been constructed in a different location than currently approved. According to the <br />approved mining plan map, the haul road was to enter the site from the southern end of the permit area. The actual haul <br />road connects to County Road 22 at the southern end of the property and runs north from the county road and eventually <br />turns east into the pit excavation at the northern end of the permit boundary. The site conditions were mapped using a <br />Trimble GPS unit. A map of the Division's findings is enclosed with this report. Based on the GPS measurements, the <br />Operator has affected approximately .29 acres of land outside the northern and eastern permit boundary. The haul road <br />constructed outside of the permit boundary is about 2072 feet long and about 25 feet wide on average, thus about 1.2 acres <br />of disturbance. In total about 1.49 acres of land has been affected outside of the permit boundary. <br />It is clear this road was constructed for the purposes of the mining operation and must be considered "Affected Land". In <br />accordance with C.R.S. 34-32.5-103 (1), "Affected land means the surface of an area within the state where a mining <br />operation is being conducted, which surface is disturbed as a result of an operation. Affected lands include, but shall not <br />be limited to, private ways, roads...". Given this, the road must be within the approved permit boundary which it is not. <br />Given the disturbance noted outside of the permit boundary and the location of the haul road, the Operator has affected <br />land outside of the approved permit boundary. This issue is cited as a Possible Violation at the beginning of this <br />report and will require an Enforcement Hearing in front of the Mined Land Reclamation Board. <br />Page 2 of 4