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Mike Long - 5 - May 18, 1988 <br /> Our final visit during the oversight tour was to the New Elk Mine waste pile. <br /> Don Frickle and Lou Hamm were impressed with the Gabion-Lined drainage <br /> channels completed on the lowermost terrace face at the waste pile. Lou <br /> stated that he was happy with the methods being used to construct the <br /> underdrains and to place and compact waste material . The top of the pile is <br /> graded to drain, sloping approximately 5 degrees towards the toe of the pile. <br /> However, waste is placed in horizontal layers in small areas and compacted. <br /> Lou stated that he was impressed with these techniques, as he had been at the <br /> Deserado pile. Don Frickle concurred with our .justification for the absence <br /> of a diversion ditch on the steep slopes surrounding the New Elk waste pile. <br /> Bernie Freeman, however, appeared dissatisfied. He asked several questions <br /> regarding what I considered to be the difference between "lifts" and <br /> "layers. " He apparently thinks our regulations are "less effective than" the <br /> OSMRE's. I stated that I considered the difference to be purely semantic and <br /> of little significance in affecting the structural stability of the waste <br /> piles. Bernie continued to seem dissatisfied with that response. <br /> We concluded the oversight tour with a 45-minute discussion, while seeking <br /> refuge from a thunderstorm downpour, at the Trinidad Dairy Queen. Bob Liddle <br /> and I restated our proposed resolution offers. We rediscussed the format of <br /> the OSMRE oversight report. Bernie Freeman stated, in response to our <br /> questions, that Lou Hamm and Don Frickle's technical reports concerning each <br /> one of the sites visited would not be attached to his oversight report. He <br /> stated that he would cite their reports, if he felt them to be appropriate. <br /> He further stated that his report would need to be completed prior to the end <br /> of May, and he might not receive their reports prior to its completion. <br /> My personal opinion tends to question the propriety of the OSMRE's methods in <br /> completing their oversight review. I suspect that Bernie Freeman will ignore <br /> the technical opinions presented by Lou Hamm and Don Frickle at his whim. I <br /> suspect that the oversight report will reflect Bernie's opinions with little <br /> consideration given to the technical opinions presented by the OSMRE's Western <br /> Technical Center personnel . I recommend, therefore, that we obtain copies of <br /> each of Lou Hamm' s and Don Frickle's reports directly from the Technical <br /> Center, in order to compare their content with Bernie Freeman's oversight <br /> report. Bernie also stated that he would not forward a draft copy of his <br /> report to us for examination. That report would be the subject of your normal <br /> June meeting with the Albuquerque staff. If my suspicions prove correct, this <br /> issue will be an ideal topic for the planned facilitation meeting in Keystone, <br /> June 28 and 29. <br /> cc: Bob Liddle <br /> Candy Thompson <br /> 7413F <br />