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OBSERVATIONS <br />PERMIT #: M -1990 -093 <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: KAP <br />INSPECTION DATE: October 12, 2011 <br />This inspection was conducted as part of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety monitoring program. <br />The inspection was also conducted at the request of the operator to identify what measures still need to be <br />completed for reclamation of the site. <br />The lower area, located at the base of the pipe, has revegetated well on its own, with the exception of the <br />area immediately below the pipe. In that the pipe needs to be removed as part of reclamation, the area <br />below the pipe that will be affected by removal is already in need of seeding, so no destruction of established <br />vegetation will need to occur during this part of reclamation. <br />There is an access road for access to the pipe about half way up the access road to the top of the mesa. <br />Although this road is to be reclaimed prior to release of the site, the road is cluttered with large boulders that <br />have sloughed off of the outcrop above and has vegetation established on it. The Division will consider <br />allowing this road to remain if the operator submits a Technical Revision indicating that it will. <br />There is a concrete foundation that is primarily underground, that helps hold the pipe in place. The Division <br />will consider allowing this structure to remain as part of the reclamation plan if the operator submits a <br />Technical Revision indicating how this structure will be buried and the surface reclaimed <br />There is a scale house and scales located off of the access road near the bottom of the site. The operator <br />would like to keep these features as part of the site reclamation as he uses the building to store tools and the <br />concrete scale on which to work on his vehicles. The Division will consider allowing these features to remain if <br />the operator submits a Technical Revision, including proof that these features comply with county regulations, <br />requesting that these remain as part of the reclamation of the site. This request can be combined with the <br />request that the road and foundation for the pipe remain. <br />The excavation on top of the mesa is fairly extensive and consists of slopes of approximately 0.5H:1V. The <br />approved reclamation plan indicates that the maximum reclaimed slope will be 3H:1V. It appears that the <br />operator had intended to excavate a larger area on top of the mesa and daylight along the depth of excavation <br />to achieve these final slopes. Although the operator has not completed mining as it was presented in the <br />original mining plan, resulting in steeper slopes than planned, the Division believes that the final slopes of <br />3H:1V proposed in the original plan are still a requirement of final reclamation. It appears that the bulk of the <br />slopes can be cut down and the material used to create the slopes. The slope along the east side, bordering <br />the Ute Reservation, may be too close to the permit boundary to allow cut and fill, so will need to be backfilled <br />with material acquired from other portions of the site. <br />A bond calculation is scheduled to be conducted to determine whether the current bond amount is adequate <br />for reclamation of the site. The Division will hold off for 30 days before calculating the bond amount, in that <br />the operator may desire to submit the Technical Revision, which may alter the bond amount. If the revision is <br />not submitted within 30 days of the signature date on this inspection, the bond will be recalculated based on <br />the original reclamation plan. <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />