2011-09-13_INSPECTION - C1980006

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Marr Mine Complete Oversight Inspection Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) Permit ID # C -1980 -004 Monday, August 29, 2011, 12:30 -5:00 Operator: Kerr Coal Company Participants: Rob Zuber, DRMS Elizabeth Shaeffer, OSM, Badge # 377 Weather conditions: upper 60's, partly cloudy, heavy sporadic rain This was a complete oversight inspection of the Marr Mine conducted jointly by Rob Zuber of the DRMS Denver Office and Elizabeth Shaeffer of OSM's Denver Field Division. This site is inactive; there was no activity at the mine site during our inspection. The mine ID sign was intact and contained all of the necessary information. Most of this site has been Phase II released, with the exception of 8 acres at the mine, 11.7 acres at the loadout, and 9 acres of the mine access road, which will remain permanent. Ponds A, B, D, E, and F will also remain permanent structures, totaling 64.2 acres. We began our inspection by visiting the reclaimed loadout /tipple area. The vegetation in this area is well- established (see Photo 1). We observed the loadout pond. The banks appeared stable. The emergency spillway contained some willow growth but was still functioning. We then inspected the channel from the primary spillway. There was no water discharging from the loadout pond. There is standing water in this area, which Mr. Zuber informed me is groundwater coming from a seep (see Photo 2). This water is moving slowly through the channel from the primary spillway, as seen flowing through the wier near the end of the channel. Mr. Zuber tested this groundwater flow, which had a pH of 8.3 and an electrical conductivity of 900 microsiemens per centimeter (see Photo 3). We next drove to an area where two 24" culverts pass under the road. Both were in good condition (see Photo 4). The remaining roads are in good shape with only minor rutting and no notable signs of erosion. We then observed reclamation that was performed by the facilities area. There is an obvious area that is predominantly wheat grass, which Mr. Zuber stated had previously been parceled out of a bond release approval (see Photo 5). Mr. Zuber planned to follow up on this to determine why this area had not been granted bond release by the previous DRMS inspector who conducted that bond release inspection. We then observed the "south set" of culverts under the road. This pair consisted of a large culvert and a smaller culvert. On the west side of the road, the culverts had no sediment. On the east side of the road, the culverts had a minimal amount of sediment (see Photo 6). Since this was a complete inspection, we performed a records check at the Northwest Colorado Consultants, Inc (NWCC) office in Steamboat Springs, where the Marr Mine records are maintained and stored. The DRMS permit renewal was approved in March of 2011, but the final form is not yet at the NWCC Office. There was no rill and gully survey in the records. Additionally, there were no CDPS monitoring records, CDPS Pond Inspection Report, and DRMS inspection reports for May or June, 2011. NWCC must update these records immediately.