2013-08-08_REPORT - C1996083 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Notes for site visit August 6. 2013: I arrived on site about 1:15 and met with Gary Harding who took me around the Gob Pile. Our first stop was Pond C, which has been mostly dewatered, as has Pond D, and B. Pond F is not quite dewatered, they are letting the sediment settle out. In the TR -76 expansion area, a road has now been constructed between the two piles, which makes hiking up to the upper diversion ditches much more pleasant. Gary and I walked along W. Diversion Ditch #1. Some erosion had occurred in the upslope and had slumped into the channel bottom during the rain event on July 28. This type of surficial slumping is to be expected as the up -slope reaches its equilibrium point. But as mentioned in last weeks report, the ditch had been cleaned by Wednesday July 31, 2013, so the channel was in good shape. In last weeks report I mentioned that based on the Surveyor's pictures, the potential need for riprap where W. Diversion Ditch #1 outlets into the ephemeral drainage. But, there was no substantial signs of erosion, so no riprap is needed at this time. The outlet will continue to be monitored after large storm events for evidence of erosion. On the newly constructed road between the two piles, the Operator had begun to haul coverfill to the west side of Gob pile #4. Before the large rain event, it was anticipated that placement of Coverfill would begin on the west side of the pile. However, at this point, no work has begun placing the coverfill material on gob pile #4. Our next stop on the gob pile was a discussion with Ron Grimlen. There are a couple of factors working against the Operator on the gob pile right now and their efforts to achieve complete NOV abatement by the end of August. 1) The mine is currently mining in a poor quality seam, so approximately 3,000 tons of gob are now being hauled to the gob pile everyday, 2) A very wet monsoon season is upon us, 3) the storm event that occurred on July 28 caused a significant amount of damage to ditches and culverts. The majority of the last week was spent repairing drainage facilities damaged in the storm. Ditch F4 was being re- constructed while I was on site. Two track hoes were working on sorting riprap out of the coverfill pile, and one track hoe was building the ditch. That means three track hoes were not working on the gob pile, which has slowed down progress on the pile. It is understood the priority is NOV- 2013 -004 abatement and every effort is being made to re- handle, place and compact end dumped gob that had accumulated over the winter months. But there is still a lot to do before the August 30 deadline. As shown on page 6, on the top of the pile - east side, there are a few peaks of gob material that still need to be placed and compacted. It is anticipated that this material will be compacted and placed prior to the NOV abatement deadline. There is a section of end dumped material in the expansion area where gob was stacked over the winter, and is the location where gob is currently being dumped. The active end dumping area is being effectively managed, meaning large sections of end dumped materials are not running down the face of the slopes, and the end dumped material is being actively worked in an effort to dry the material out. However, there is still a lot of material that must be processed in order for complete NOV abatement. That is what the priority on the ground is, and the Operator is diligently working to re- handle, place and compact material stacked over the winter months. The modeling for the air permit for gob pile #3 is complete, and has been accepted by CDPHE. Bowie was told during a meeting with CDPHE that once the modeling was approved they could grant enforcement discretion. In order to provide some relief to the gob pile #2 area, Bowie plans to ask for enforcement discretion for the gob pile #3 area. Once enforcement discretion is granted, gob would be hauled to gob pile #3 instead of gob pile #2, which would allow for more progress on gob pile #2. It is unknown when the enforcement discretion will be granted. Bowie acquired soil samples for the TR -77 alternate topsoil demonstration. They will be sent to the lab, and we should have results within a couple of weeks.