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South Basin Road Reclamation Project(2000). Removing dirt from the outside slopes of <br /> Road B served two purposes; it achieved a portion of the goal of the overall road <br /> reclamation concept for the site by narrowing the road from an average of sixty feet to <br /> about a thirty feet average width, and it generated the dirt used to cover the waste rock <br /> pile in preparation for revegetation. <br /> The Rock Tunnel Waste Disposal Facility is located on privately owned property. Some <br /> maintenance work was conducted on the facility in 1997. This work included re-seeding <br /> and realignment of a runoff conveyance ditch located near the upper margins of the <br /> facility. <br /> Rock Tunnel Reclamation Project. The Rock Tunnel is a twin bore mine entry <br /> constructed through non-coal bearing shale and sandstone, which eventually intersected <br /> the working mines. Coal, personnel and materials were moved between the mine and the <br /> surface via the Rock Tunnel. After abandonment, and prior to reclamation, the tunnel <br /> drained at a constant rate from one of the twin adits. In 1995, the drainage was observed <br /> to shift from the south to north tunnel and back again, apparently as a result of <br /> underground blockages. <br /> Reclamation of the Rock Tunnel consisted of placing a four feet diameter vylon (double <br /> walled plastic)pipe into each mine entry. The pipe was bedded in a pea gravel bed, and <br /> fixed in place using a low concrete tooter at each mine entry. The northerly pipe <br /> extended out of the entry, and turned south to join the southerly pipe, which extends <br /> straight out of the entry. The outlet end of the pipe is anchored to the ground by a <br /> concrete wall. A steel grate with a locking access door acts as a barrier at the terminus of <br /> the pipe. A drainage ditch was constructed to convey the mine flow from the pipe to the <br /> 016 treatment ponds located below the Rock Tunnel Waste Pile. <br /> The outlet portion of the pipes and the westerly portion of the Rock Tunnel entry <br /> highwall were backfilled to a 2.5H:1 V slope. The backfill material was obtained by <br /> excavating an over-steeped fill slope located adjacent to the North Fork of Dutch Creek. <br /> The remaining portion of the highwall was to be backfilled, using the debris generated by <br /> demolition of the Lamphouse as a base. However, Mid Continent Resources threatened <br /> to sue DRMS if the Lamphouse were demolished. An environmental evaluation of the <br /> site by DRMS concluded that there would not be any environmental damage if the <br /> Lamphouse were left in place, and if the remaining highwall remnant was not completely <br /> backfilled. As a result, DRMS determined to not pursue demolition of the structure, and <br /> to not complete highwall backfilling. <br /> Following reclamation, the Rock Tunnel drainage continued to be routed to the nearby <br /> 016 sediment ponds for treatment. Subsequent to completion of the DRMS reclamation <br /> work, Mid Continent Resources applied to the Colorado Water Quality Control Division, <br /> the regulatory authority pertaining to mine water discharges, to abandon the 016 sediment <br /> treatment ponds. Ultimately, this approval was received and Mid Continent constructed a <br /> 7 <br />