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September 13, 2012 C- 1980- 007/West Elk Mine JRS <br />HYDROLOGIC BALANCE (cont.) - Fresh water pond FW -1 contained water approximately five feet below the <br />top at the time of the inspection. There was no flow out of the spillway noted. The pond is lined and the pond <br />embankment was well vegetated and stable, with no erosional problems noted. This is a storage pond and has only <br />an emergency spillway. This spillway is a riprapped, open channel which was stable at the time of the inspection. <br />- Fresh water pond FW -2 was basically full at the time of the inspection and was not discharging through the <br />emergency spillway. The pond is lined and the pond embankment was well vegetated and stable, with no <br />erosional problems noted. This is a storage pond and has only an emergency spillway. This spillway is a <br />riprapped, open channel which was stable at the time of the inspection. <br />- The ditch along the haul road to Sylvester Gulch had some water and sediment in them (behind the check dams) <br />from the recent rain. West Elk was working on cleaning the ditch and the areas behind the check dams while I <br />was inspecting. The ditches and check dams appear to be stable and functioning as designed. No erosional <br />problems were noted in any of these ditches. <br />- The ditches in the lower facilities area (by the coal stockpiles) all had water flowing in them. All of these ditches <br />were basically clean and stable. No erosional problems were noted in any of these ditches at the time of the <br />inspection. <br />GENERAL MINE PLAN COMPLANCE: <br />- The West Elk is currently mining in the E -Seam. The operations were down for the past three weeks rehabbing <br />the F -Seam entries (which are used to access the E- Seam). They are currently mining in longwall panel E3 at <br />approximately cross -cut 16 (at station 26 +10). They have completed development work on the longwall panel E4 <br />headgate and start room. They are working on development in the longwall panel E5 headgate and are at <br />approximately cross -cut 27 (station 48 +40). There was no change in the development work in the longwall panel <br />E6 headgate or the E -Seam south mains. <br />PROCESSING WASTE /COAL MINE WASTE PILES — Rule 4.10 and 4.11 Drainage Control; Surface <br />Stabilization; Placement: <br />- West Elk was still moving refuse from the temporary stockpile at the RPE to the RPEE. They had a fleet of one <br />excavator and three 35 -ton articulated trucks working. It appears as though they may have excavated the material <br />a bit below the original refuse pile surface (prior to stockpiling) to allow for more volume for the stockpile over <br />the winter. West Elk also plans on excavating approximately 50,000 additional _yards of material to run it through <br />the wash plant. This will not be done until they restart the wash plant at the beginning of longwall panel E4. The <br />rest of the pile was well graded and there was no standing water from the recent rains. The reclaimed lifts of the <br />RPE remain stable and well vegetated, with no erosional problems noted. The small slump the was on the <br />northeast corner of the pile that was repaired this spring remains stable. There needs to be another lift of <br />subsoil /topsoil placed on this area and it needs to be reseeded this fall. The perimeter ditches at the RPE were all <br />stable at the time of the inspection, with no erosional problems noted. <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 2 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 1 <br />Page 3 of 12 <br />