2010-11-04_INSPECTION - C1981008

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We drove on top of Mt. Nucla to gain a better perspective. North of Pond 007 (which is to the west of Mt. Nucla) we could see active irrigation occurring in preparation for winter. We also had a good view of the Krill drainage, which was included in the recent SL12 Bond Release. On top of Mt. Nucla there were still old shovel parts present, which will eventually get scrapped. There are four topsoil stockpiles clustered together on the east side of Mt. Nucla. From this vantage they appear to be well-vegetated and stable. Rabbit brush is abundant on top of Mt. Nucla. The material from the reconstruction of 5th Avenue, which runs east/west near/through the mine, is being dumped in this area. Fifth Ave. divides Pond 007, which will remain as a permanent feature by landowner request. Pond 007, which is located on San Miguel property, will remain a permanent pond. As previously stated, 5th Ave runs east/west through the pond. The two diversion pipes that connect the pond on the north side of the road to the south side were free of debris and were functioning properly (Photo 4). The Pond discharge then flows toward an outlet structure (Photo 5) and then dumps into Calamity Draw. There is a device here that provides continuous monitoring of the discharge flow rate. It was not functioning properly at the time as a result of raccoon interference. Mr. Fry repaired the device during the inspection. The V-notch outflow's estimated flow was 400 gpm (Photo 6). At this location we heard many birds, but did not see any. This area is known for having a lot of bird activity. Next we drove to the reclaimed Krill Drainage. On our way we saw active watering of the haul road. This area is the southern Benson property. It is dry land, but there is alfalfa, rush, and timothy growing along the drainage. In the future, grasses should take over this area as the alfalfa dies off, since grasses do better with constant irrigation. There are also cattails visible in the ditch itself (Photo 7). Although not in the permit area, we looked at the concrete diversion box for the CCC West Lateral Ditch that is just outside of the northeastern boundary of the permit area (Photo 8). This is where shares of water from the conservation ditch enter the area. The screens were all clear; they are cleaned frequently by various landowners. There are two pipes coming from this structure. One is a 12" pipe that carries WFC water shares. The other is a 26" pipe that provides pressurized irrigation water so the landowners do not have to pump the water. Next we traveled to the Lloyd property to see the topsoil placement area. WFC has completed mining on the Lloyd property. Seeding is anticipated to happen before the end of October. They are planting winter wheat (seed mix No. 3) to provide a temporary cover. The rocks that are picked up from this area will be used as rip rap for drainage construction or will be placed in the pit as backfill. This area will be dry land around the perimeter and irrigated cropland in the interior. They will not plant irrigated pastureland species until irrigation is in place. We then looked at topsoil stockpiles Lift A and Lift B (Morgan soil). The piles are identified with signage. We drove in between the two separate piles (Photos 9a and 9b). These stockpiles are being stored only on the Morgan property. The piles have been hydro seeded to reduce erosion. They were also recently sprayed for weeds. There are protective ditches around both topsoil stockpiles. We also observed the Bench 1 stockpile. Bench 1 material is placed in the uppermost level of backfill. The disturbed area markers on the Morgan property were visible. We drove towards the pit bottom. From this vantage there is a good view of the different horizons of the Morgan soil profile (Photo 10). In this report, I have also included another vantage of the pit where you can see the two lifts from the opposite side of the pit (Photo 11). There was equipment moving overburden from a recent blast. We then drove to Pond 011. You could clearly see a steady outflow towards the Enstrom property. Pond 011 now takes in the pit water (it used to go to Pond 007). The mine is preparing to pump water from the pit to Pond 013. There were pipes on the ground (Photo 12). Pond 013 is on property owned by WFC. Vegetation has established on the pond floor by way of the water table that the Tuttle Draw seepage contributes to. This pond currently gets little water from the pit.