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2.05 APPLICATION FOR PERMIT FOR SURFACE OR UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES - <br />MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATION AND RECLAMATION PLANS. <br />(c) Transportation Facilities <br />The mine transportation facilities are used for mine access and <br />were used coal movement A prior operator built a Haul Road <br />(used for coal transport) connecting Steven's Gulch Road, a <br />National Forest Access Road, with the East Mine facilities. The <br />road is on a BLM right-of-way. This section of road has been <br />asphalt paved. Gradients and cross-sections are found on Maps <br />8-1, 8A-9A through C, and Figure 2.05-3 in the Mine Facilities <br />Appendix, Volume BA. It has followed Colorado State Highway <br />specifications and conforms with 9.03.1 (See appropriate <br />Section). The road is the sole means of access for mine <br />personnel and coal hauling trucks transporting coal from <br />crushing and screening operations to the storage and load-out <br />facilities. <br />In general, the existing Haul Road has been designed and <br />constructed to minimize erosion, downstream sedimentation and <br />flooding. The gradient for the road is approximately 7 percent. <br />The road is constructed considering local topography and <br />anticipated volume of traffic. Road cuts were constructed to <br />minimize visual impacts and affected area. <br />The Haul Road drainage utilizes ditches and culverts spaced <br />approximately every 500 feet. Culvert capacity has been <br />designed to pass the runoff from a 10-year, 24-hour <br />precipitation event. See calculation in Surface Drainage <br />Appendix in Volume B. Sediment control measures are <br />sedimentation ponds, vegetative buffers, or straw dikes. Part <br />of the road drainage is routed through the series of <br />sedimentation ponds described in Section 2.05.3(3)(b) - Existing . <br />Structures. The remainder of the drainage is routed through <br />vegetative buffers or straw dikes before discharge into any <br />existing watershed. The applicant repairs the road as is <br />necessary to assure vehicle usage. Road cut and fill slopes <br />have been vegetated in accordance with Section 2.05.4- <br />Reclamation Plan: General Requirements. The road, after <br />cessation of mining operations will be left in place to be used <br />as access to grazing areas as stated in Section 2.05.5 - Post- <br />Mining Land Use. <br />An Access Road, leading from the Haul Road, provides access to <br />the remainder of the East Mine facilities. The gradient varies <br />from 0 to 15~. For specific gradients and cross-sections see <br />Maps 8-1, BA-10 and 11, and Figure 2.05-3 in Volume 8A. For <br />specifications and geo-technical information, see Section 4.03.2 <br />and the Phases I and II Stability Appendices in Volume 6. The <br />road is not used for any coal transport, but instead for mine <br />personnel access. The access road is an existing structure <br />"within the disturbed area" so not all of the performance <br />standards apply. <br />i• <br />The road was designed and constructed for overall convenience <br />and safety. Occasional steep gradients were required to <br />minimize visual impacts and disturbed area. Although the steep <br />grades do not meet the requirements of an Access Road, to revise <br />the existing roads would be a maj ox disturbance to surface <br />areas. it would increase erosion and sediment and disrupt mine <br />Permit Renewal <br />R/V _4 4 C 4 ~9 ~e v~ <br />/nR-io6 <br />- 28 - <br />01/03 <br />