HomeMy WebLinkAbout940860.tiff ,,,_, ,,„:, TATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY'n' - T^^
Department of Natural Resources
1313 St Room 215 tr"ti �' r '� �l (�. 39 morrli
Denver,Colorado 80203
Phone:(303)866-3567
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FAX:1303)832-8106 CL_E7i
TO T DEPARTMENT OF
NATURAL
RESOURCES
Roy Romer
April 21 , 1994 4OVernor
Ken Salazar
E xecutive Director
Michael B. Long
Div ision Director
Weld County Commissioners
915 10th Street
Greeley, CO 80632
Dear County Commissioners :
The Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology renewed Mining Permit
No. C-81-028, effective November 3, 1991 , allowing reclamation operations at
the Keenesburg Strip Mine under the provisions of the Colorado Surface Coal
Mining Reclamation Act of 1979. The permit was issued to Coors Energy Co. ,
P.O. Box 359, Keenesburg, Colorado 80643, (303) 659-8520, for their mining
operation located in portions of Sections 25, 26, 35 and 36, Township 3 North,
Range 64 West, in Weld County.
Copies of the proposed decision and permit are available at the Colorado
Division of Minerals and Geology, Centennial Building, Room 215, 1313 Sherman
Street, Denver, Colorado 80203, (303) 866-3567.
Sincerely, _
C//cl
1 Lca(C ;., g --(-4
Shawn E. Smithl_.'I
Environmental Protection Specialist
SES/bjw
Enclosures
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STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
Department of of Natural Resources
1313 (Sherman Room 215
Denver,Colorado 80203
Phone:(303)03)866-6-3567
FAX:(303)832-8106
DEPARTMENT OF
MINING PERMIT - COAL NATURAL
RESOURCES
Roy Romer
Permit Date: November 3, 1991 Permit No. C-81-028 Governor
Ken Salazar
Executive Director
Permit Expiration Date: November 3, 1996 Michael B.Long
Division Director
THIS PERMIT is issued by the Division of Minerals and Geology, Department of
Natural Resources , State of Colorado.
RECITALS
I . Coors Energy Co. ("operator") desires to conduct a mining operation
known as the Keenesburg Strip Mine for the purpose of extracting coal .
II . On March 21 , 1994, the Division of Minerals and Geology ("the Division")
approved the operator' s application for this permit, fixed the amount of bond
and directed that this permit be issued upon the filing with the Division of
bond in the amount so fixed in form and substance approved by the Division,
and such bond has been so furnished.
•
III . On March 17, 1992, the Division made the following findings :
(a) The permit application is accurate and contains all information
required under C.R.S. , 34-33-101 et seq. and regulations promulgated
thereunder and that all the requirements of Article 33 of Title 34, C.R.S.
("such article") for the issue of a permit have been complied with;
(b) The applicant has demonstrated that reclamation as required by such
article can be accomplished under the reclamation plan contained in the permit
application;
(c) The assessment of the probable cumulative impact of all anticipated
mining in the area on the hydrologic balance specified in Section
34-33-110(2)(1 ) has been made by the Division and the proposed operation
thereof has been designed to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance
outside the permit area;
(d) Granting the permit will not conflict with any designation decision
issued pursuant to Section 522 of the Federal "Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act of 1977," as amended, (P.L. 95-87) , nor is the area proposed
to be mined within an area under study for unsuitability designation in an
administrative proceeding commenced pursuant to Section 34-33-126 or
Section 522 of said P.L. 95-87.
(e) (I) Unless the proposed operation was an operation which produced
coal in commercial quantities in the year preceding August 3, 1977 and at that
time was located within or adjacent to alluvial valley floors , the proposed
surface coal mining operations would:
(A) Not interrupt, discontinue, or preclude farming on
alluvial valley floors that are irrigated or naturally subirrigated, excluding
undeveloped range lands which are not significant to farming on said alluvial
valley floors and those lands upon which the Board has found that the farming
which will be interrupted, discontinued, or precluded is of such small acreage
as to be of negligible impact on said land' s agricultural production; or
(B) Not materially damage the quantity or quality of surface
water or ground water systems that supply the alluvial valley floors described
in sub—subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (I) .
(f) To the extent that the applicant proposes to extract coal by
surface methods , and where the private mineral estate has been severed from
the private surface estate, the applicant has submitted to the Division:
(I) The written consent of the surface owner to the extraction of
coal by surface coal mining; or
(II) A conveyance that expressly grants or reserves the right to
extract the coal by surface coal mining, or, if the conveyance does not
expressly grant the right to extract coal by surface coal mining, other legal
documentation supporting applicant' s right of entry in accordance with State
law. (Nothing in the permit shall be construed as an adjudication of any
property right. )
(g) Subject to valid rights existing as of August 3, 1977, and with the
further exception of those surface coal mining operations which were in
existence on August 3, 1977, the application:
(I) Does not include any lands within the boundaries of units of
the national park system, the national wildlife refuge systems, the national
system of trails , the national wilderness preservation system, the wild and
scenic rivers system, including study rivers designated under said act, and
national recreation areas designated by act of the United States Congress;
(II) Does not include any federal lands within the boundaries of
any national forest, except to the extent that the Secretary of the United
States Department of Agriculture has found that there are no significant
recreational , timber, economic , or other values which may be incompatible with
such surface mining operations , and:
(A) Surface operations and impacts are incident to an
underground coal mine; or
(B) Where the Secretary of the United States Department of
Agriculture has determined, with respect to lands in national forests which do
not have significant forest cover, that surface mining is in compliance with
the "Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, " as amended, the "Federal Coal
Leasing Amendments Act of 1975," as amended , the "National Forest Management
Act of 1976," as amended, and the provisions of Article 33 of Title 34, C.R.S .
(III) Will not adversely affect any publicly owned park or place
included in the National Register of Historic Sites unless approved jointly by
the Division and Federal , State, or local agency with jurisdiction over the
park or the historic site ;
(IV) Does not include lands within one hundred feet of the outside
right-of-way line of any public road, except where mine access roads or
haulage roads join such right-of-way line, except to the extent that the
Division has permitted such roads to be relocated or the area affected to lie
within one hundred feet of such road after public notice and opportunity for
public hearing in the locality and a written finding has been made by the
Division that the interest of the public and the landowners affected thereby
will be protected; and
(V) Does not include lands within three hundred feet of any
occupied dwelling, unless with the consent of the owner thereof, nor within
three hundred feet of any public building or school , church, community, or
institutional building or any public park, nor within one hundred feet of a
cemetery.
(h) To the extent, if any, that the surface area proposed to be
affected by the operation contains prime farmland and is not exempt from the
special requirement of such article regarding reclamation of prime farmlands ,
the Division has, after consultation with the Secretary of the United States
Department of Agriculture, and pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary
of the United States Department of the Interior with the concurrence of the
Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, determined that the
operator has the technological capability to restore such mined area, within a
reasonable time, to equivalent or higher levels of yield as non-mined prime
farmland in the surrounding area under equivalent levels of management and
that the operator can meet the soil reconstruction standards in C.R.S. ,
34-33-120(2)(9) .
IV. A copy of the operator' s application, as amended and supplemented, has
been approved by the Division and is by this reference incorporated herein.
GRANTS, CONDITIONS AND AGREEMENTS
A. The Division, in reliance upon the representations- and promises
made in such application, as amended and supplemented, and based upon the
foregoing findings, hereby issues this permit to operator, to engage in the
operations described in the application on the following lands lying in the
County of Weld, State of Colorado:
A parcel of land located in parts of Sections 25, 26, 35 and 36, Township
3 North, Range 64 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian, more particularly
described as follows:
Commencing at the northwest corner of said Section 26; thence south
0°15'45" east along the west line of said Section 26, a distance of
600 feet, to the true point of begining; thence south 82°40'04" east, a
distance of 2651 .66 feet, to the north-south centerline of said
Section 26; thence north 81°00' 14" east, a distance of 971 .31 feet;
thence south 84°51 ' 18" east a distance of 1675.93 feet, to the east line
of said section 26; thence north 0°36' 32" west along the east line of
said Section 26, a distance of 980 feet, to the northeast corner of said
Section 26; thence south 45°44' 19" east, a distance of 3718.91 feet, to
the center one-quarter said Section 25; thence north 89°07' 15" east
along the east-west centerline of said Section 25; a distance of 2635.63
feet, to the east one-quarter corner of said Section 25; thence south
0°32' 57" east along the east line of said Section 25, a distance of
2639.70 feet, to the south-east corner of said Section 25, thence south
0°04'57" west along the east line of said Section 36, a distance of
2641 . 13 feet, to the east one-quarter corner of said Section 36; thence
south 0°04' 57" west along the east line of said Section 36, a distance
of 2641 . 13 feet, to the east one-quarter corner of said Section 36; a
distance of 586. 19; thence south 89°12'46" west and parallel to the
east-west centerline of said Section 36, a distance of 5259.48 feet, to
the west line of said Section 36; thence north 0°04' 35" west along the
west line of said Section 36, a distance of 586. 15 feet, to the west
one-quarter corner of said Section 36; thence south 89°16' 55" west along
the east-west centerline of said Section 35, a distance of 400 feet;
thence north 62°11 ' 52" west, a distance of 5523.83 feet, to the
north-west corner of said Section 35; thence north 0°15'45" west along
the west line of said Section 26, a distance of 2646.80 feet, to the
west one-quarter corner of said Section 26; thence north 0°15'45" west
along the west line of said Section 26, a distance of 2046.80 feet, to
the true point of beginning.
B. The term of this permit will expire on November 3, 1996.
C. This permit is issued subject to the following conditions and
agreements :
1 . Operator agrees to be bound by all lawful requirements of the
Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act (C.R.S. 34-33-101 et seq. ) ("the
Act") , all lawful rules and regulations thereunder, as amended from time to
time, and all provisions of this permit.
2. If analyses of the mining and reclamation operation and the
data collected through monitoring and experimentation by the operator or
monitoring by the Division indicate in the judgment of the Division that the
operation will not be able to comply with the requirements of the Act and
lawful rules and regulations thereunder, operator hereby agrees to exercise
its best efforts, after consulting with the Division, to modify the plans
prospectively to correct such deficiencies . Such modifications may require
technical revisions or amendments to the permit.
3. This permit may be revoked or suspended for non-compliance
with the Act or lawful rules or regulations promulgated by the Board.
4. a. Operator hereby bargains , sells and conveys unto the
State of Colorado the right to enter upon the lands above described and to
accomplish thereon the reclamation of such lands as required by this permit
and by applicable law.
b. Such right to enter shall be exercisable only if the
Board or the Division shall have lawfully determined:
i . that reclamation required by law to have been
performed upon such lands has not been performed, and that
ii . the bond or surety forfeiture proceedings described
in the Act or similar provisions of subsequent laws, if any, have been
initiated.
c. Such right to enter shall be exercisable only within the
period of time expiring twenty-one (21 ) years after the death of all the
individuals whose names appear on this permit on the date of its issuance.
Such right shall automatically expire when reclamation has been completed and
sureties released.
d. Such right to enter is in addition to other lawful
rights of the State to enter upon such lands.
5. The additional stipulations set forth in the attached rider,
if any, are incorporated herein by reference.
/XX/ a) Rider is attached.
/_/ b) No rider is attached.
ACCEPTED AND AGREED: DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF
NATURAL RESOURCES
By
Operator Title Division Director
STATE OF
COUNTY OF ass
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this day of
, 19 by
as of
, operator.
NOTARY PUBLIC
My Commission expires:
RIDER TO MINING PERMIT
Stipulation No. 5
THE PERMITTEE SHALL SUBMIT AN ANNUAL HYDROLOGY REPORT BY JANUARY 30 OF
EACH YEAR WHICH PRESENTS AND DISCUSSES THE MONITORING DATA COLLECTED
DURING THE PAST YEAR.
Stipulation No. 17
THE PERMITTEE WILL SUBMIT TO THE DIVISION BY JANUARY 30 OF EACH YEAR AN
ANNUAL REPORT WHICH INCLUDES A SUMMARY OF THE PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR' S
PIT EXPANSION, THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL NUMBER OF ACRES STRIPPED, ACRES
RECLAIMED, AND DISTURBED ACRES REMAINING TO BE RECLAIMED. THE REPORT
WILL ALSO INCLUDE A MAP SHOWING ACTUAL RECLAIMED TOPOGRAPHY AND A
REPORT OF BACKFILLING MASS BALANCE CALCULATIONS.
Stipulation No. 20
ASH MATERIAL AT THE KEENESBURG MINE MUST BE BURIED A MINIMUM OF EIGHT
(8) FEET BELOW THE FINAL POST-MINING RECLAIMED SURFACE.
Stipulation No. 21
ASH MATERIAL AT THE KEENESBURG MINE MUST BE BURIED A MINIMUM OF FIVE
(5) FEET ABOVE THE PROJECTED POST-MINING WATER TABLE.
Stipulation No. 23
IN ADDITION TO THE LARAMIE-FOX HILLS MONITORING WELL INSTALLED NORTH-
EAST OF THE ASH DISPOSAL CELLS, A MONITORING WELL SHOULD BE INSTALLED
SOUTHWEST OF THE ASH DISPOSAL AREA. ALL MONITORING WELLS MUST BE
INSTALLED AND FUNCTIONING AS DESIGNED PRIOR TO DISPOSAL OF ASH AT THE
MINE SITE. WELL LOCATION, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES MUST BE
APPROVED BY THE DIVISION PRIOR TO WELL CONSTRUCTION. FREQUENCY OF
MONITORING FOR ASH DISPOSAL MONITORING WELLS WILL BE MONTHLY AND
PARAMETERS TO BE ANALYZED FOR INCLUDE ALL PARAMETERS SAMPLED FOR DURING
THE PASTE EXTRACT ANALYSIS OF ASH SAMPLES PLUS ALL PARAMETERS INCLUDED
IN SAMPLING OF QUARTERLY WATER QUALITY SAMPLES.
Stipulation No. 24
EACH YEAR, A MINIMUM OF ONE (1 ) REPRESENTATIVE FLY ASH AND ONE (1 )
REPRESENTATIVE BOTTOM ASH SAMPLE SHALL BE COLLECTED FROM THE BOILERS AT
THE GOLDEN POWER PLANT. LABORATORY ANALYSIS WILL CONSIST OF SATURATION
EXTRACTS AND E.P. TOXICITY TEST FOR EACH SAMPLE. ADDITIONAL FLY ASH
AND BOTTOM ASH SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED AND ANALYZED IF, AT ANY TIME,
A SOURCE OF COAL IS CHANGED. RESULTS OF SATURATION EXTRACTS AND
TOXICITY TESTS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE DIVISION WITHIN 15 DAYS OF
ANALYSIS.
Rider to Mining Permit
Page 2
Stipulation No. 25
AN ANNUAL EVALUATION OF ASH DISPOSAL INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
SOURCE OF ASH, ASH QUALITY, TOTAL AMOUNT OF ASH DISPOSED OF, AVERAGE
DEPTH OF ASH AND AERIAL EXTENT OF DISPOSAL AREAS, TRANSPORTATION AND
DISPOSAL TECHNIQUES, WATER QUALITY MONITORING DATA, AND FUTURE ASH
DISPOSAL SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL HYDROLOGY AND RECLAMATION
REPORT. MONTHLY REPORTS CONSISTING OF SOURCE OF ASH, MATERIAL
QUANTITIES DISPOSED OF, DEPTH OF ASH AND AERIAL EXTENT, WATER QUALITY
MONITORING DATA, AND DISPOSAL PROBLEMS (IF ANY) SHOULD BE MADE
AVAILABLE AT THE MINE OFFICE.
Stipulation No. 26
PRIOR TO RESUMPTION OF COAL EXTRACTION OR ASSOCIATED SURFACE
DISTURBANCE AT THE KEENESBURG MINE, THE PERMITTEE WILL OBTAIN APPROVAL
OF A REVISION WHICH WILL PROVIDE AN UPDATED MINING AND RECLAMATION
SCHEDULE AND WHICH WILL DEMONSTRATE SUFFICIENCY OF THE RECLAMATION BOND
FOR THE PROJECTED WORST-CASE DISTURBANCE DURING THE PERMIT TERM.
ACCEPTED AND AGREED: DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF
NATURAL RESOURCES
By _
Operator Title Division Direct
AG Alpha No. NR LR TYB
AG File No. PNR/3928/JD
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