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Mr. David C. Shelton <br /> September 4 , 1985 <br /> Page - 3 <br /> to employees because of these increased pressures. For <br /> these reasons, suspending operations on this face could and <br /> is likely to create serious damage to property and increase <br /> hazards to employees. <br /> We are operating a longwall face on retreat in our <br /> #2 Mine in a different seam of coal from the #1 Mine, and <br /> located approximately 450 ft. above the #3 Mine. The <br /> longwall panel being mined at this time and for the next few <br /> months is located above a room and pillar section formerly <br /> mined out in the #1 Mine. The room and pillar section has <br /> pillars, rooms, barriers and other conditions that cause <br /> great pressure differentials. From experience, we have <br /> found that these pressure variables are severely impacting <br /> the operation of the longwall face 450 feet above the mined <br /> out workings. <br /> On April 27, 1985 a face break occurred in this <br /> mine which severely damaged a number of shields and halted <br /> the retreat movement of the face. Because of a stress zone <br /> caused by a barrier pillar left in the mine in the lower <br /> seam on former mining operations, constant movement developed <br /> and 25 shields went solid over a period of six hours. <br /> In that we are working and will be working for <br /> the next several weeks in a variable stress zone as a result <br /> of former mining activities, we are greatly concerned that <br /> a shutdown of this face would again result in the failure <br /> of barrier pillars and increase the pressure to the extent <br /> that the equipment would "go solid" thereby creating great <br /> damage to the equipment, and additional hazards to personnel, <br /> as well as an indefinite interruption in mine operations. <br /> We consider it imperative that we be allowed to continue <br /> moving this face in order to protect our property and to <br /> protect the safety of our personnel. During the past three <br /> weeks we have experienced up to three feet of bottom heave <br /> in 24 hours. <br /> Additionally, we assume that it is not your desire <br /> to stop environmental work on the property. We have a <br /> short construction season in which we may expect heavy snows <br /> in October, as occurred last year. The maintenance of ponds, <br /> roads, berms, seeding and vegetation, and other activities <br /> contemplated in our environmental plans should not be <br /> interrupted. As you know, the principal feature of our <br /> longrange environmental control program rests in replacing <br /> the entire haulage system from the mine portals with the <br /> twin tunnel adits. When this is accomplished, as we have <br /> told you, the present mine haul roads can, over a period <br />