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(2) Regarding the duration and extent of any actual or potential damage caused by the violation in <br />terms of area and impact upon the public or environment, the on- the - ground disturbance at <br />this site is reported in the permittee's 2010 Annual Reclamation Report as 9.8 acres. The <br />Division in the Spring of 2011 approved an application for a partial Phase I bond release <br />(SL4) for 7.5 acres. The Division noted in the SL4 Findings that "there are three issues <br />occurring at the Bear No. 3 Mine that resulted in the exclusion of the west side of the <br />reclaimed hillside from the SL -4 bond release ". The Findings stated that these three issues <br />were (a) "signs of slope instability, including cracks and holes,... occurring in the area where <br />the two mine portal entries were sealed and backfilled "; (b) evidence of a thermal event, <br />which event is perhaps "affecting the slope stability and seals of the two backfilled mine <br />portal entries" and perhaps being "a public safety concern"; and (c) the existence of a spring <br />located "on the hillside just down gradient of [the] unstable reclaimed portal area ", the source <br />of which, and "its relationship to the landslide and reclamation stability ", were unknown. <br />The exact areal extent of this potentially unstable area is not clear, but appears to be 0.94 <br />acres (9.80 total disturbed acres - 7.50 acres - 1.03 acres associated with two unreclaimed <br />ponds - 0.26 acres associated with a permanent flood control berm - 0.07 acres associated <br />with a section of permanent site access road). <br />The SL4 Findings also documented the existence of two unreclaimed ponds: the "sediment <br />pond" and the "hillside spring water treatment pond ". As the CDPS permit has been <br />terminated, these ponds are no longer needed for water treatment; therefore, it appears that <br />leaving these ponds unreclaimed is not creating an actual impact to the quality of the water in <br />the North Fork of the Gunnison River. <br />DRMS inspection reports document that a portion of the disturbed area known as the "former <br />facilities area" has not been properly revegetated. DRMS inspection reports further report the <br />presence of several species of noxious weeds throughout the mine site, including tamarisk, <br />white top, and thistle. Cheatgrass and kochia were specifically noted in a DRMS inspection <br />report as present at the "former facilities area ". <br />Several structures at the site have been approved to remain permanent: a pre- existing bridge <br />over the North Fork of the Gunnison River; a section of access road situated immediately east <br />of the bridge; and a flood control berm. Because the approved post - mining land uses at this <br />site include "limited residential use ", it would appear that these structures support this post - <br />mining land use and that the public (landowners) would benefit from the presence and use of <br />these permanent structures. A DRMS inspection report (inspection of 6/29/12) documents <br />that before the permit expired, the permittee was asked to make certain repairs to the bridge. <br />This apparently was not done, as subsequent DRMS inspection reports document the presence <br />of holes where the bridge meets the road, indicating that the bridge has fallen into such a level <br />of disrepair that the safety of the public (landowners) may now be at risk. <br />It appears, therefore, that very little direct actual damage upon the public in terms of duration <br />and extent has occurred as a result of this violation. Nevertheless, some amount of potential <br />damage to the public may exist, due to the bridge spanning the North Fork of the Gunnison <br />not being repaired before the DMRS permit expired as requested by DRMS. Further, some <br />amount of potential damage to the environment seems to exist from the approximately 0.94 - <br />acre area that was considered so unstable by the permittee that it was not included in a Phase I <br />bond release application (SL4). The duration and extent of the damage to the environment <br />that might be caused by failure of this area is uncertain, however. <br />Some amount of potential damage to the environment seems to exist from the presence of an <br />underground thermal event located within the permit area. Evidence of the existence of this <br />thermal event was documented by a DRMS inspector as recently as March 2012, though the <br />same inspector documented in May 2012 that evidence of the thermal event no longer seemed <br />to exist. The duration and extent of the damage to the environment that might be cause by <br />