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<br />United States Department of the Interior <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />Washington, D.C. 20240 <br />IsAR - 9 Is~a <br />Mr. Steven G. Renner <br />Coal Program Supervisor <br />Division of Minerals and Geology <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 21 5 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Dear Mr. Renner: <br />~~~ ~~~~~~I~~I~~~~~~ <br />sss <br />P~W~ EDE IAN <br />~ ^ <br /> <br />r.'r ~ ~, 1 <br />i,9q <br />!', <br />-;; q . <br />_,. <br />~~,,, <br />Thank you for your letter of December 6, 1993, requesting informal review <br />of the Albuquerque Field Office (AFO) Director's determination that your <br />agency did not take appropriate action with respect to the violation alleged <br />in ten-day notice (TDN) number 93-020-1 16-002 (Mountain Coal Company <br />(MCC), permit number C-80-007) dated November 8, 1993. <br />The violation alleged is a failure to provide the required public notice of <br />undermining to two landowners, Grand Mesa Properties (Grand Mesa) and <br />the United States Forest Service (USES(. Your regulations at 4.20.2 require <br />that all owners of property and residents within the area above the <br />underground workings and adjacent areas be given specific notification at <br />least six months prior to mining beneath the property or residence. <br />In your request for review, you state that at the time of our August 13, <br />1993, joint inspection, it was determined that the landowners had not been <br />properly notified so your agency issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to MCC. <br />Subsequently, MCC provided documentation which indicated that the <br />violation had not occurred and the NOV was vacated on the basis that the <br />required notice was effectively provided in a manner such that the intent and <br />purpose of the rule had been met. <br />The documentation you submitted in support of your position shows that <br />MCC notified Grand Mesa in December 1984 that mining would commence <br />in February 1985. MCC submitted documents to your agency that indicate <br />that undermining did not actually occur until late July 1985 and thus MCC <br />satisfied the requirement to provide notice of undermining at least six <br />months prior to commencement of mining. MCC subsequently provided <br />