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STATE OF COLORADO <br /> DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY <br /> Department of Natural Resources <br /> 1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br /> Denver,Colorado 80203 <br /> D IV IS I ON OF <br /> Phone.(303)866-3567 MINERAL S <br /> FAX (303)832-8106 & <br /> GEOLOGY <br /> R E C L A M A T I O N <br /> ] MINING-SAFETY <br /> Bill Owens <br /> October 17, 2000 Governor <br /> Greg E Walcher <br /> Executive Director <br /> Mr. Carl Schneider Michael Long <br /> 4260 Evans Drive Division Director <br /> Boulder, CO 80303 <br /> RE: Coal Basin Water Quality <br /> Dear Mr. Schneider: <br /> Thank you for your letter concerning the quality of Coal Creek, a tributary to the <br /> Crystal River in western Pitkin County, Colorado. I apologize for the delay in <br /> answering you, but your letter has just recently been forwarded to me. <br /> The Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology assumed the responsibility of <br /> accomplishing reclamation of the Coal Basin Mines in 1994. Reclamation construction <br /> began in early 1995 and will be substantially completed this fall. <br /> The focus of the reclamation process has been to minimize, to the extent possible, the <br /> contribution of sediment from the mining-related facilities to the Coal and Dutch <br /> Creeks, the main drainages within Coal Basin. This is being accomplished by creating <br /> geomorphically stable land forms from the areas drastically disturbed by mining <br /> activities. This process occurs via recontouring, using heavy equipment, and through <br /> vegetation practices. <br /> Generally, we feel that the reclamation to date has been highly successful in <br /> accomplishing a substantial reduction in erosion and resultant sedimentation. That <br /> being said, however, there are some areas, which will require maintenance and other <br /> work over time. <br /> Reclamation within Coal Basin has been particularly difficult, given the extremely <br /> steep slopes and the highly erosive nature of the area. The high erosion potential is <br /> directly related to the natural geologic characteristics of the area, including large <br /> exposures of Mancos Shale, a fine-grained, marine shale that has little strength and is, <br /> therefore, highly susceptible to erosion in high precipitation areas, such as Coal Basin. <br />