2010-12-09_INSPECTION - C1981041

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Ground conditions were moist/muddy in places due to rainfall the previous evening. We began walking east along a portion of the Railroad Spur toward the reclaimed Unit Train Loadout (UTL) Area. A permanent road runs parallel to the train tracks on the east (river) side. The Union Pacific Railroad Company uses this road. Culverts (from reclaimed UTL Ponds No. 1 and 2) running underneath the rail line were capped and buried rather than disturbing the rail. No issues or concerns were identified with the Railroad Spur. Next, we observed a sediment control structure adjacent to a wetland area wherein a silt fence has been replaced with rip-rap and rock check dams (see Figures 1 and 2). The purpose for the sediment control at this location was to prevent contribution of sediment and runoff to the wetland area during construction activities associated with the Halliburton "Cameo Sand Offloading Facility." Halliburton chose to leave the riprap and check dam structure in place as a permanent sediment control feature. The protected wetland area is shown in Figure 3. Two sediment ponds (UTL No. 1 and UTL No. 2) located adjacent to the wetland area were inspected. Reclamation of these ponds involved placing fill nearly level with the permanent light use road and sloping the fill away from the pond embankments towards the drainage swale to the north. The spillways were reclaimed by removing the 90 degree bends and attached skimmers and caps were placed on both ends of the two spillway pipes. The intake side of the spillway pipes were backfilled and covered with clean fill material. The two-30-inch pipes were left in place with removable caps (see Figure 4) so they can be used in the future to support the industrial land use. The former pond embankments were topsoiled and seeded with the appropriate seed mix. Former Pond UTL-1 was dry at the time of the inspection. Former Pond UTL-2 had a small amount of water at the base of the reclaimed slope from recent heavy rain. Photographs of reclaimed Pond UTL-1 and UTL-2 are shown in Figures 5 and 6. We continued to a'/2 acre non-active use area near the UTL where coal fines were removed. The area is flat and was backfilled and regraded in 2010. Straw mulch had also recently been spread for erosion control purposes (see Figure 7). Because of this site's industrial PMLU, the requirements of Colorado Rule 4.15.10 apply. Rule 4.15.10(2) requires the ground cover of living plants to be sufficient to control erosion for areas to be developed for industrial use less than 2 years after regarding has been completed prior to releasing final bond. However, Rule 4.15.10(3) allows the vegetation requirement to be waived for mine support facilities located within areas where the pre-mining and approved post-mining land use is industrial if requested in writing by the landowner, and if the Division determines that revegetation is not necessary to control erosion. By letter dated June 22, 2010, Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (Halliburton), which holds the surface rights to the UTL area, requested that the vegetation requirements of Rule 4.15.10(2) be waived due to ongoing construction projects. Halliburton also noted that future vegetation and weed management will be regulated by Mesa County under a current Conditional Use Permit. Because of the size and location of the area, DRMS determined that revegetation was not necessary to control erosion in accordance with the standard set forth in Rule 4.15.10(3). The UTL facility structures were demolished and removed in 2008-2009 including the Loadout building, Coal feeders, 60-foot conveyor belt structures, a water tank, and a fire suppression building. The area has been backfilled, regraded, and reseeded with coal fines removed during 2010 (see Figure 8). A tunnel that was used to feed coal to the conveyor structures and the