2011-01-28_REVISION - C1980007 (2)

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NTAINCOAL 1 West Elk Mine V- P.O. Box 591 MPANYL L C ( 0 Highway 133 5174 . . . AS 3ftaryofArch Western BiWm i* s Group, LLC S omom Serset, 81434 (970)929-220 200 Fax (970) 9295050 January 28, 2011 Mr. Tom Kaldenbach Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety Office of Mined Land Reclamation 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 Re: Mountain Coal Company, LLC, West Elk Mine; Permit No. C-1980-007; Technical Revision No. TR-124, Addition of Maximum Projected Areal Extent of Potential Mining; Responses to Adequacy Comments Dear Mr. Kaldenbach: Mountain Coal Company, LLC (MCC) provides the following responses to the adequacy comments on Technical Revision No. 124 per your letter of January 20, 2011. The Division's comments are quoted below and are followed by MCC's responses. 1. "Please add to Table 8 of Exhibit 71 baseline monitoring of the springs located in SE % Section 2-R14S-R90W. The current baseline monitoring plan in Exhibit 71 was based on the mine plan approved in PR-12, which did not include the longwall panel extensions proposed in TR-124 (see Section 5.0 of the Exhibit 71)." As mentioned in MCC's response letter of January 10, baseline hydrology information has been collected for the entire lease and permit areas (and beyond), and not just above the projected E- seam mining or "mine plan" area. As such, it is already inclusive of all water resources that actually exist including, for example, the Deep Creek Ditch flume. MCC contacted Hydro-Geo (MCC's hydrology monitoring contractor) and they've confirmed that the springs shown in the southeast % of Section 2 on the current springs and ponds location map is incorrect as they've never observed those springs during their filed investigations. Nonetheless, MCC will conduct another hydrology resource field investigation throughout this area when weather and ground conditions allow this summer and update the maps and monitoring program thereafter as needed. 6. "To make it clear that mining will be approved only within the Projected Potential Mining Area as that area is shown on Map 51, please remove the word "approximate" from page 1 of Exhibit 55B and page 1 of Exhibit 60E." MCC has revised the text of the Exhibits to remove the word "approximate" as directed. 9. (a.) "On your submitted page 2.05-170, immediately after the words "additional reflector stations will be added", please add the words "at approximately 300-foot spacing along the entire length of the portion of the Deep Creek Ditch that will be undermined upstream from the aforementioned five stations". MCC has added the suggested text on page 2.05-170 as directed. (b.) "Please update the monitoring and repair plan for the Deep Creek Ditch in Section 2.05.6(6)(f)(iii) of the permit application to include the additional section of the ditch that may be undermined in the Projected Potential Mining Area."