2009-11-05_ENFORCEMENT - M1995064

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STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman St., Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone: (303) 866-3567 FAX: (303) 832-8106 COLORADO D I V I S I ON OF RECLAMATION MINING SAFETY Bill Ritter, Jr. Governor November 5, 2009 Harris D. Sherman Executive Director Howard Fix Ronald W. Cattany 4152 CR 91 Division Director Haxtun CO 80731 Natural Resource Trustee RE: Reason to Believe a Violation Exists at the Fix Pit; DRMS File # M-1994-064 Dear Mr. Fix: On May 27, 2009 the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety conducted a routine monitoring inspection of the Fix Pit, located in the NW 1/4 of the SW '/4 Section 27, Township 6N, Range 48W on the east side of Logan County Road 91 and found the following: Although mining has not taken place in an estimated 8 - 10 years, the site was not reclaimed according to the approved reclamation plan, nor was it put into temporary cessation. The Division believes that this is a violation o£ C.R.S. 34-32.5-103(11)(b) for failure to put site into temporary cessation after a period of inactivity exceeding 180 days and failure to resume operations within one year. Specifically, mining has not occurred on site in at least 8-10 years based on observations of current site conditions. No actual end of mining date could be found in the site file, as an adequate annual report containing a map and/or description of activity has never been submitted for the site. C.R.S. 34-32.5-112(6) for failure to complete reclamation within five years of the completion of mining. Based on current site conditions, it does not appear that mining has taken place in at least 8-10 years; however, no reclamation activity has occurred on site other than natural overgrowth. The site was never put into Temporary Cessation, and the owner stated during the last inspection that there would likely be no additional mining on site. Therefore, we have reason to believe that these violations exist to DRMS File Number M-1984-110 and to the Law, and have scheduled this matter to appear before the Mined Land Reclamation Board. A Formal Public Hearing will be held during the December 9`h and 10 h, 2009 Board Meeting for consideration of a possible violation. The hearing will be held in Room 318 of 1313 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on December 9th or as soon thereafter as the matter can be considered. At that hearing you will have the opportunity to be represented and heard. It will be reiterated that there is reason to believe that you are in violation of the provisions noted above. If the Board finds a violation at this hearing, it may issue a Cease and Desist Order and/or assess a Civil Penalty in the amount of $100.00 to $1,000.00 for each day of violation. If you have evidence indicating that the possible violations noted above do not exist or have been corrected, please provide it to us as soon as possible or bring it to the hearing. Following the hearing, all parties have an opportunity to review and comment on a draft of the Board's order before it becomes final. If you wish to do so, you must provide the Board with a written request to review the draft order prior to or at the time of your hearing, or you must inform the Board orally during the hearing that you request to review the draft order. You must include your mailing address and, ifpossible, a fax number. You will be provided a copy of the draft order for your review as soon as it is available. The Board must receive your comments on the draft order within seven (7) calendar days of the date the draft order is mailed, unless that deadline is extended for good cause. Please note that the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety has requested and will be allowed to review and comment on the draft Board Order prior to mailing to any party. Submit all comments in writing to Ms. Jillian Allison, Assistant Office of Office of Mined Land Reclamation Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines