1994-02-07_ENFORCEMENT - C1981017 (3)

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hindsight, he felt it would not be practicable to topsoil the terraces until vegetation is well established on the slopes. Representatives of Mid-Continent Resources contested the violation for a couple reasons. First, in April of 1988 Gary Fritz , of OSM, was concerned about the pile stability. He issued a TDN because the drainage was directed over the outslope of the fill. Therefore, the terraces are purposely left uncovered so Mid-Continent Resources can maintain the inside ditches until vegetation is well established on the outslopes. Maintenance of the ditches requires the use of heavy equipment. To topsoil now would result in contamination and compaction of the topsoil by the maintenance equipment. It is not "practicable" to topsoil when equipment is needed for further maintenance. Second, the permitted reclamation plan does require the terraces to be topsoiled, but there is no time frame. They plan to wait until vegetation is well established on the upper slopes. Well vegetated slopes will greatly reduce the amount of ditch maintenance. Third, the Rules say topsoil shall be distributed following grading, but there are no specific time frames and they claim, the terraces will be topsoiled following grading. Fourth, the terraces were topsoiled at one time but the subsequent maintenance resulted in contaminated and lost topsoil. I conclude there is no violation. The stability of the refuse pile is critical and ditch maintenance helps to ensure this. I believe it is practicable to wait until the outslopes are well vegetated and ditch maintenance is minimal before the terraces are topsoiled. Topsoil is at a premium at the Coal Basin Mines and they cannot afford to risk the possibility of contaminating or losing any more of this valuable resource. NOV C-93-099 NOV C-93-099 was issued for "Failure to repair rills and gullies on the old refuse pile according to the rill and gully plan in the permit". The rill and gully plan in the permit says: The portion of the old pile that was constructed after 1977 will be inspected as snow cover allows; inspections to identify erosion problems will be conducted once per month from May through July. Inspection will also be made after any significant rainfall event. If any are noted, temporary control will be established by hay bales or parts of bales being placed at prudent intervals along the rill or gully within 10 days of detection. When the refuse pile dries out (generally July or August) , mechanical methods will be used to remove or fill the rills and gullies, always keeping in mind to minimize disturbance of existing vegetation. . . . . " The plan clearly states that repairs will not occur until July. The issue is whether or not a survey was done to identify the rills and gullies. Mid-Continent contends that in May the conditions did not permit access to the pile and a survey could not be done. They had 271" of snow last winter/spring. The pile