1990-08-13_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017

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Fred R. Banta, Director August 10, 1990 MLRD, Denver, CO 80203 Page 16 events, and not as the result of any willful or unwarranted action or inaction on the part of Mid-Continent. C-90-002 (04-Jan-90J Gullies Forming on Hillside Civil Penalty History $400 Seriousness $250 Fault $250 Good Faith -0- Total $900 As noted in the Justification for Settlement, NoV C-90-002 was issued because "two gullies . . . had formed on the hillside south of the slurry pond . . . in a relatively undisturbed area. " Runoff from this hillside flows to and is treated by the Outfall No. 001 ponds. As noted in the Civil Penalty Worksheet and in the Justification for Settlement, no off-site environmental damage occurred. The erosion noted on the hillside was caused by a violent storm, estimated to be a 50-year storm event, that occurred in July, 1989. Mid-Continent carried out a major post-storm maintenance and repair effort which included cleaning and repair of ditches and culverts in Coal Basin. As noted in the Justification for Settlement, Mid-Continent "presented evidence, in the form of precipitation records, that showed a major storm event had occurred over three days in July that caused severe damage throughout the permit area. Extensive maintenance was undertaken at the mine to repair the damage, but this area was missed. " The hillside is to the north of and downhill from a pad area adjacent the roadway leading to the lamphouse. The pad is protected by a berm around its perimeter. Drainage from the pad flows downhill, in a southerly direction, to the Outfall No. 010 ponds. During the storm clean-up effort, repairs to the berm around the pad were completed. The area in which the gullies formed was a steep hillside obscured by vegetation in the summer and not readily visible from the road above it. The assessment officer agreed that a violation had occurred on the basis that " [t]he gullies were there . . . .