Laserfiche WebLink
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM <br />TP. TOM KALDENBA <br />FROM: JANET BI <br />SUBJECT: SUMMAR F MEE 6:N G HISTORIC RECORD STUDY AREA AT THE WEST ELK MINE <br />DATE: 6/6/2011 <br />CC: DAN HERNANDEZ <br />On May 23, 2011 Kathy Welt from Mountain Coal Company, Mike Savage from Savage and Savage <br />Associates, Dan Hernandez, Tom Kaldenbach, and Janet Binns representing DRMS met to discuss the <br />Historic Record Study Area at the West Elk Mine. <br />The Historic Record Study Area (HRSA) was permitted in 1996, during the PR3 review process. The <br />previously approved reference areas; Dry meadow and Mountain Shrub, were potentially planned to <br />be impacted from expansion of the mine facilities following approval of PR3. Additional plant <br />communities were also proposed to be impacted with the PR3 expansion. Instead on maintaining <br />multiple reference areas for all vegetation communities proposed to be impacted by mining activities, <br />Mountain Coal Company (MCC) proposed using a historic standard in accordance with Rule <br />4.15.7(2)(d)(v). A historic standard must be derived from statistically adequate samples collected over <br />a period of several years. <br />During PR3 (Approved 1997), an old field area (HRSA) was approved to represent a historic grassland <br />that would be characteristic of rangeland in the area. The HRSA was to be sampled a minimum of <br />three years, once during a dry year, once during a "normal" year, and once during a wet year. The <br />growing season year for the purposes of establishing the historic standard was defined as October 1 to <br />the following May 31 st. This would provide a measure of the moisture that plants would utilize during <br />the growing season. The precipitation would be measured at the US weather station Paonia 1 SW. A <br />long (85 year) historic record of precipitation amounts was available from the Paonia 1 SW weather <br />station, which is located in the general region of the mine. A normal year was defined as the mean <br />precipitation value of the 85+ years of data (1905-1990) or 11.17 inches. A dry year was defined as <br />the mean minus at least 1 standard deviation or <8.45 inches. A wet year was defined as the mean <br />plus at least 1 standard deviation or >13.71 inches. <br />MCC sampled in 1996; dry year, 1997; average year, 1998; average year. In the ensuing time, 1999- <br />2010, there has been no defined wet year. Results of the 2011 pre-growing season precipitation totals <br />were not available at the time of the meeting. MCC sampled the HRSA in 2010, dry year, to provide <br />data documenting the current condition of the HRSA, and to try to resolve the determination of the <br />historic standard. <br />MCC proposed that the Division consider the results of the vegetation sampling data collected in 1996, <br />1997, 1998 and 2010 for determination of the reclamation success standards. Based on the wording <br />