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West Elk Mine <br />switchgear buildings above the portals, and to the power -poles located along the west side of <br />Sylvester Gulch Haul /Access road and north of the Sylvester Gulch F -Seam fan. When these <br />roads and pads are no longer required for operations, the roads will be graded back to <br />approximate original contour and reclaimed. The road between the ROM coal stockpile pad and <br />the product coal stockpile has been designated as a light -use road. The overall grade of the road <br />is 7.6 percent. The road is surfaced with asphalt or roadbase. An existing road in the Lone Pine <br />Gulch area was widened and graveled as a light -use road to access the former Lone Pine Gulch <br />fan site. This road was left in place at final reclamation to allow continued access for the <br />landowners and lessees of the area and is consistent with the approved post - mining land uses of <br />rangeland and wildlife habitat. Light -use roads to the water tank and to the Sylvester Gulch high - <br />voltage transmission line were constructed in the Spring of 1997. Other light -use roads for the <br />Sylvester Gulch Facilities Area include the electric borehole road, the ventilation shaft #3 road, <br />the degasification borehole road, and the powerline light -use road. <br />Light -use roads are also used in association with methane drainage well drilling and operations. <br />These roads will be reclaimed upon completion of methane drainage well operations. Some light - <br />use roads, such as those needed to access field data (e.g. soil sampling or geotechnical borehole) <br />acquisition sites, will be field- designed and fit, utilizing earthwork contractors who are <br />experienced in this locale in building light -use roads to minimiz erosion and sedimentation. <br />Following construction of such roads, as -built designs will be submitted to the CDRMS as a <br />minor revision to certify that the light -use road was constructed per the light -use road standards of <br />Rule 4.03.3. Field- designed roads as -built minor revisions will be included in Exhibit 80. <br />Existing roads constructed prior to the mine, which provide access to monitoring stations, and <br />other existing site roads, not otherwise designated, will be utilized and maintained as light -use <br />roads. Some existing public roads (e.g. USFS roads, etc.) are utilized for access to monitoring <br />sites, etc. A Road Use Permit, with annual updates as necessary, was issued by the USFS, which <br />authorizes these uses and any maintenance required. These existing roads will not be <br />reconstructed if they do not meet light -use road design standards, unless a maintenance problem <br />is identified, requiring a design revision. The pre- existing roads located outside the mine site <br />will not be removed or restored to approximate original contour, as these roads were a part of <br />the pre -mine site original contour. <br />Department of Highway Approvals <br />State Highway 133, completed with modifications in 1985, provides primary access to West Elk <br />Mine. Map 53 shows where the mine's main haul /access road joins the highway east of the lower <br />refuse pile. The old haul road now functions as an access road to the stack tubes and other mine <br />facilities, but was designed and may occasionally be utilized for hauling coal or coal refuse. <br />During the initial permitting of West Elk Mine, State Highway 133 was located on the north side <br />of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. The unit train loadout facility is sited within 100 feet of <br />State Highway 133. In 1981 and early 1982, MCC went through the public process of obtaining <br />approval from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for siting of the unit train <br />2.05 -26 Rev. 06105, 01106, 03106, 04106 & 05106- PRIG; 01109- MR350; 04109- TR116; 04109- MR353; 05109- MR354; 08109- TR118; <br />08109- TRII9 <br />