2012-04-27_REVISION - C1981012

• Permit No: C1981012
• IBM Index Class Name: Revision
• Doc Date: 4/27/2012
• Doc Name: Incompleteness Letter
• From: DRMS
• To: Ron Thompson
• Type & Sequence: TR65
• Email Name: ZTT
• Email Name: DIH
• Email Name: JHB
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman St., Room 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
April 27, 2012
Ron Thompson
New Elk Coal Company, LLC
122 West First Street
Trinidad, CO 80182
Re: New Elk Mine (Permit No. C- 1981 -012)
Technical Revision No. 65 (TR -65)
West Development Waste Disposal Area and Sediment Drying Area
Dear Mr. Thompson:
COLORADO
ID IV I S I O N O F
RECLAMATION
MINING
SAFETY
John W. Hickenlooper
Governor
Mike King
Executive Director
Loretta E. Pineda
Director
We have received your application for a technical revision to your permit to conduct coal mining in
Colorado. Our initial review indicates that all preliminary items required by Rule 2.08.4(5) have
not been submitted. Thus, your application is incomplete for the purposes of filing as of April 26,
2012.
In accordance with Rule 2.07.3(1), you have the opportunity to amend, review, or otherwise make
your application complete.
As discussed in Exhibit 42, prepared by Agapito Associates, Inc. for New Elk Coal Company and
submitted with the revision application, groundwater was not encountered in any of the borings
drilled during the site investigation; however, Agapito stated that seasonal fluctuations in the
ground water surface will likely occur. Furthermore, groundwater levels can vary considerably
from year to year, and the winter of 2011 - 2012 was not characterized by high precipitation.
Therefore, it is possible that ground water levels could potentially rise within the proposed waste
pile to a level that would impact the stability of the West Development Waste Disposal Area.
Therefore, the Divisions finds that one of the following is required within the TR -65 submittal:
1. A designed underdrain system for the proposed West Development Waste Disposal Area
(per Rule 4.10.3 in the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for
Coal Mining); or
2. An additional slope stability analysis to ensure a long -term static safety factor of 1.5 in the
event of contact with groundwater (per Rule 4.10.4); or
3. Another alternative to ensure that all rules are met, including those within 4. 10, the rules
for Coal Mine Waste Banks.
Office of Office of
Mined Land Reclamation Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines