_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017 ‎(142)‎

• Permit No: C1981017
• IBM Index Class Name: GENERAL DOCUMENTS
• Doc Name: Bid Documents ‎(IMP)‎
• Permit Index Doc Type: General Correspondence
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

OF'Cal
p DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
David H.Getches,Executive Director
MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVISION
18 7G * DAVID C.SHELTON, Director
Richard D.Lamm
Governor
DATE: October 16, 1985
TO: Dave Shelt
FROM: Fred Barr
RE: MID-CON ENT SHOW CAUSE AND SUSPENSION
Now that the Mid-Continent Show Cause issue is resolved, I want to present
some thoughts and observations - particularly in regard to the day of
suspension when Candace Thompson and I were at the site.
It appears to me that the issue from the Division's perspective was not
successfully carried to the community. From what I heard on the radio, read
in the paper and heard from miners and people in the community, the impression
was that the mine had been penalized for the violations that occurred in
May, 1984. The impression is that Mid-Continent was overwhelmed by the heavy
snow, and as a result Coal Creek was polluted.
A second observation is that the community and local government were, to
varying degrees, surprised that the state had the authority to actually
shut-down the mine as a punitive measure.
A third observation is that it was perceived to be as much a federal
Office of Surface Mining (OSM) action as a state action. There are some who
believe the state was forced into the action by OSM.
It is possible that the Mid-Continent case may be a lively topic at future
operator, environmental , agency and legislative meetings. From our
perspective, there are some points that should be made.
Under the current enforcement and civil penalty structure, the Show Cause
Order and suspension is an appropriate additional enforcement measure. The
threat of a suspension of a permit removes, to a high degree, the possibility
for a business to choose not to comply as an economically rational decision.
It is an effective deterrent because it introduces an unknown economic
variable into the business decision process. Without that -variable, an
operator can project the possible civil penalty for failure to comply and
choose not to comply if he can gain more money by doing so.
The alternative to the Show Cause Order as a deterrent to significant
violations of the law are the Cessation Order and the civil penalty for
multiple days. However, at this time they are not as effective tools as the
Show Cause Order for the following reasons.
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