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October 15, 2010 C -1980- 004 /McClane Canyon Mine DTM <br />PROCESSING WASTE /COAL MINE WASTE PILES — Rule 4.10 and 4.11 <br />Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization; Placement: <br />The temporary coal waste pile was checked and no problems were noted with respect to material placement or <br />containment. The containment berm and clean water diversion were both properly maintained and functional. <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) <br />Reclamation 4.03.1(7)/4.03.2(7): <br />The lower road section from the sediment pond vicinity to Highway 139 was inspected. The road had recently <br />been watered to control dust. Ditch and culvert maintenance operations were in progress during the inspection. <br />No problems were noted. <br />REVEGETATION — Rule 4.15 <br />Vegetative Cover; Timing: <br />Interim revegetated areas in the lower facilities vicinity (e.g. temporary coal waste site, sediment pond, topsoil and <br />construction material stockpile, and associated diversion and collection ditches) were inspected, and concerns <br />were noted with respect to poor establishment of perennial grasses and excessive presence of weedy annual <br />species in a number of locations. Cover on the topsoil stockpile was largely cheatgrass, with some weedy annual <br />kochia and mustard. Cheatgrass (also known as downy brome) has been treated on the topsoil stockpile in previous <br />years, but it appears that the cheatgrass was not controlled sufficiently or that perennial establishment was <br />otherwise unsuccessful. In any event, cheatgrass is dominant on the topsoil pile with essentially no perennials <br />present. <br />Other locations in the vicinity have been disturbed in recent years for various maintenance activities, and <br />establishment of interim vegetation cover (Temporary Stabilization Seedmix) has not been successful, allowing <br />annual weedy species to proliferate. Cover on the coal waste area berm was mostly kochia. There was decent <br />grass establishment along the outside (east and south side) of the diversion ditch that runs along the east and south <br />sides of the temporary coal waste site and the south side of the topsoil and construction material stockpiles, but the <br />corridor between the ditch and the stockpiles was heavily dominated by kochia, mustard, Russian thistle, and some <br />cheatgrass, with very minimal presence of perennial grass. There is good grass establishment on the sediment <br />pond embankment and southern portions of the construction material stockpile; but on the more recently disturbed <br />northern portion of the material stockpile, and adjacent areas between the stockpile and pond embankment, cover <br />is primarily kochia and other annual weeds, with some cheatgrass. <br />Given the heavy dominance of annual species and the fact that desirable perennials are largely absent from the <br />locations noted, the best approach for control of the weedy species and establishment of the interim mix might be a <br />combination of tillage and herbicide application. Disking of areas accessible to equipment in (such as the <br />construction material stockpile and adjacent areas in the spring of 2011 could be used to uproot the emergent weed <br />growth and remove the remnant heavy cover of prior years weed growth that is present in some areas. Follow up <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 3 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 1 <br />Page 3 of 7 <br />