2011-11-16_INSPECTION - C1996083 (2)

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November 9, 2011 C -1996 -083 /Bowie No. 2 Mine JJD Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 3 Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 2 Page 3 of 6 Impoundments 4.05.6, 4.05.9; Stream Buffer Zones 4.05.18: None of the s ediment ponds were discharging at the time of the inspection. There was a fair volume of water in pond B. The float was on the primary discharge hose and the emergency spillway was clear of any debris. The pond embankment was stable. Pond C had a moderate pool of water in it. The discharge structures were functional. Pond D only had a little water in it while pond F had a large pool of water in it. The water in pond F will need to be discharged soon by the pump, which was in place. Ponds J and K were wet bu t did not have standing pools of water in them. The embankments of both ponds were stable and discharge structures were in place and operational. Ditches around the mine sites had enough capacity for the designed runoff. Culverts were clear of debris. Str aw bales were in place in the ditch at the entrance to the main mine site. PROCESSING WASTE/COAL MINE WASTE PILES – Rule 4.10 and 4.11 Drainage Control; Surface Stabilization; Placement: The operator was reworking portions of the coal waste pile. The s econd lift outslope is being steepened to allow for more storage capacity. The east side of the pile has been reworked and graded and the operation is moving towards the west. The top of the pile was wet but no standing water was observed. The benches’ out slopes were stable and the upland diversion ditch was functional. ROADS – Rule 4.03 Construction 4.03.1(3)/4.03.2(3) Drainage 4.03.1(4)/4.03.2(4) Surfacing and Maintenance4.03.1(5) and (6)/4.03.2(5) and (6) Reclamation 4.03.1(7)/4.03.2(7): The paved entrance road was in good conditi on, although the upper curve has not been repaved. The guard rail for the paved road was in place. The gob pile haul road was muddy in places but was passable. The entrance roads to the unit train loadout bench and the gob pile no. 3 area were passable as well. The road up Hubbard Creek was a little muddy in places but was passable. In doing the reclamation of the Hubbard Creek fan site, the operator realigned a curve in the Hubbard Creek road in order to keep the road away from the edge of the creek channel. This was done at the request of the Forest Service. The road leading from the utility bench to the Terror Creek vent shaft construction site had been recently graveled and was in good condition. RECLAMATION SUCCESS - R ule 4.15, Rule 3: The contractor has finished reclaiming the Hubbard Creek fan shaft site. The backfilling and grading work has eliminated the highwall cut and seems to blend in with the topography. The final grading left the surface in a roughened condi tion for better water retention. The site had been seeded. REVEGETATION – Rule 4.15 Vegetative Cover; Timing: The outslopes of the mine benches and unit train loadout bench have a good vegetative cover that has prevented erosional problems. Since the r eclaimed Hubbard Creek fan site has been seeded only recently, revegetation has not come up yet. SLIDES and DAMAGE - Rule 4.12: The cut and fill slopes of the mine benches appeared to be stable. The cut slopes of the main haul road also were stable.