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Mine Site Inspection <br />Mine Name: Coal Basin <br />Permittee: (Revoked permit, formerly Mid - Continent Resources Inc.) <br />Permit ID #: C- 1981 -017 <br />Inspection Date: July 23`d, 2013 9:00 — 3:45 and July 24th 8:00 — 5:00 <br />Inspection Type: Final Termination of Jurisdiction <br />Weather Conditions: Warm (70's - 90's), scattered clouds, dry ground with short rainfall bursts <br />Participants: <br />Justin Anderson, United States Forest Service (USFS) (Tuesday only) <br />Christine Belka, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) <br />Brock Bowles, Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) <br />Ben Carlsen, USFS (Tuesday only) <br />Steve Renner, DRMS (Tuesday only) <br />This was a final Termination of Jurisdiction (TOJ) inspection at the Coal Basin bond forfeiture site. <br />DRMS has previously terminated jurisdiction on all private lands within the former permit area — this <br />inspection pertained to Forest Service surface only. The goal of this inspection was to meet with the <br />Forest Service and the public to answer questions regarding the TOJ and to document ground conditions <br />at this time. Although representatives of the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association were <br />invited to the inspection, none attended. <br />The inspection began with a discussion of the mining, permitting / compliance, and reclamation history of <br />this site. The Forest Service requested electronic copies of all permit documents and site history <br />information for Coal Basin. DRMS will coordinate with the Forest Service to transfer the requested data. <br />Due to difficult and dangerous access, we were unable to visit reclaimed portals 1 — 5. All portals have <br />been reclaimed for more than 10 years. We visited the former flume location, the pre -law waste pile, the <br />Sutey waste pile, the lamp house (including the reclaimed conveyor and manway portals), and reclaimed <br />haul road corridors. <br />The pre -law waste pile slope is pocked to slow and disperse surface runoff entering Coal Creek and to <br />retain seeds and moisture in place to support revegetation efforts. The former flue corridor is stable and <br />vegetated. The lamp house building is intact at the landowner's request. Behind the lamp house, two <br />reclaimed portals continue to discharge water. These portals were short -lived coal conveyor, ventilation, <br />and manway openings. The portals have been sealed, and a "Y" culvert routes drainage from both portals <br />to a single discharge point on the surface (see photo 12174). This discharge water is routed to Coal Creek. <br />Several dozen head of cattle were encountered within the former permit area (see photo 12175). The <br />Forest Service is installing electric fencing around reclamation test plots and sensitive areas to <br />temporarily exclude cattle except under controlled circumstances. The Forest Service has also been <br />experimenting with biochar soil amendments on the reclaimed road corridors. This material, which <br />consists of 95% compost and 5% biochar by volume, was spread in an approximate 3" thick layer then <br />cross ripped to incorporate into test plot soils. The biochar material is still evident on the ground surface <br />in test plot areas. <br />Mining activities created extremely steep dumps near portal areas. DRMS has conducted several <br />revegetation projects on these dumps including hydro - mulching and helicopter spraying fluidized seed <br />mixtures. Vegetation still appears sparse on the dumps, which is consistent with surrounding steep <br />unconsolidated slopes in the area (see photo 12178). <br />Page I 1 <br />