JAN 11 2017
In the matter of Petition for Modification
Marfork Coal Company, Inc.
Marfork Processing
Low Gap Refuse Facility
I.D. No. 46-08374 Docket No. M-2016-009-C
PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER
On March 21, 2016, a petition was filed by Alliance Consulting, Inc., on behalf of Marfork Coal Company, Inc., seeking a modification of the application of 30 C.F.R
§ 77.214(a). The petition was amended twice after the original submittal. The first amendment was submitted on April 19, 2016 and was submitted to accurately reflect the Mine Safety and Health (MSHA) identification number of the facility. The second amendment was submitted on July 21, 2016 and was submitted to correct discrepancies found during the MSHA investigation.
The petitioned standard, 30 Code of Federal Regulations (30 CFR) § 77.214(a) states, in relevant part,
Refuse piles constructed on or after July 1, 1971, shall be located in areas which are a safe distance from all underground mine airshafts, preparation plants, tipples, or other surface installations and such piles shall not be located over abandoned openings or steamlines.
Petitioner requested a modification of 30 CFR 77.214(a) to allow for the expansion of the Low Gap Refuse Facility located in the Low Gap Branch of Marsh Fork in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The expansion is being proposed in order backfill and cover four (4) abandoned mine portals, reclaim the associated highwall with course coal refuse (CCR), and allow for additional CCR disposal. The openings and highwall are associated with the abandoned Marfork Coal Company, Inc., Marsh Fork Mine which was located in the Cedar Grove coal seam and was abandoned in 2015. The resulting refuse facility has been assigned ID No. 1211WV40234-01.
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The Petitioner alleges that the alternative method outlined in the petition will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by the standard.
MSHA personnel conducted an investigation of the petition and filed a report of their findings and recommendations with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health. As part of the investigation, an interview was held with a representative number of the miners. After providing the miners with a description of the proposed backfilling of the openings and highwall, along with construction of the underdrain to provide a controlled outlet in the unlikely event water accumulates inby the openings, none of the miners had objections to the proposed petition for modification. After a careful review of the entire record, including the petition and MSHA's investigative report, this Proposed Decision and Order is issued.
Findings of Fact and Conclusion of Law
The petitioner requested the standard be modified to allow for the disposal of mine refuse to cover the backfill of the portal area of the now-abandoned Marfork Coal Company, Inc., Marsh Fork Mine.
The portal area of the Marfork Coal Company, Inc., Marsh Fork Mine is located within the proposed footprint of the expansion of the Low Gap Refuse Facility and contains a set of entries, consisting of four (4) mine portals. The coal seam elevation at these portals is approximately 1630 feet.
There is a rock rip-rap ditch located in front of the portal entries running from the No. 4 portal entry to the right side groin ditch of the Low Gap Refuse Facility. This ditch is approximately 12 feet wide and 2.5 to 3 feet deep.
Two additional sets of abandoned entries exist outside of and down dip of the footprint of the Low Gap Refuse Facility. The first set of entries is located at approximate elevation 1601± ft. and consists of two (2) portals. The second set of entries is located at approximate elevation 1595± ft. and consists of a single portal.
This disposal site is to be a refuse pile constructed over abandoned mine openings that are properly sealed, with appropriately sized drains through the lowest seals and continued through a compacted fill.
The fill material is to be verified as impervious, non-combustible material (surface spoil) and covered by a properly constructed refuse pile of breaker rock refuse and coarse refuse from the mine preparation plant. There are no steamlines to be buried on the backfilled mine bench.
The alternative method proposed by the petitioner (as amended by MSHA) will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners under 30 C.F.R § 77.214(a).
On the basis of the petition and the findings of MSHA's investigation, Marfork Coal Company, Inc. is granted a modification of the application of 30 C.F.R § 77.214(a) to allow placement of backfill material and coarse refuse to cover four (4) portal drift openings of the abandoned Marfork Coal Company, Inc., Marsh Fork Mine.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, and pursuant to Section 101(c), of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 811(c), it is ordered that Marfork Coal Company, Inc.'s Petition for Modification of the application of 30 C.F.R § 77.214(a) for refuse disposal at the mine bench of the abandoned Marfork Coal Company, Inc., Marsh Fork Mine is hereby:
GRANTED, to allow placement of backfill material and coarse refuse at site I.D. No. 1211WV40234-01 to cover four (4) portal drift openings of the abandoned Marfork Coal Company, Inc., Marsh Fork Mine, conditioned upon full compliance of the petitioner with the following terms and conditions:
- The abandoned Marsh Fork Mine dips to the northwest and discharges from two separate sets of down dip openings located outside the footprint of the Low Gap Refuse Facility. Both sets of these down dip entries shall be maintained as free draining to preclude the potential for the mine to flood the four (4) mine portals to be backfilled and covered. Rates of discharge, in gallons per minute, will be determined weekly from each of these openings. The results of these determinations will be recorded in a book maintained at the mine site and will be made available for review by representatives of the secretary.
- Existing canopies, pipes, and loose debris shall be removed prior to placing the backfill.
- All sloughed overburden material shall be removed for at least 12 feet in front of and to either side of the four (4) exposed mine openings to allow placement of backfill material for sealing.
- An underdrain system consisting of durable rock cobbles and a perforated 8 inch diameter SDR 17 HDPE pipe wrapped in filter fabric shall be installed at the base of the highwall along the entire portal area. The underdrain shall be a minimum of five feet wide and three high and extend to the perimeter ditch. See Figure 1.
- An 8-inch diameter; SDR 17 pipe shall be installed into each of the four (4) mine openings. The proposed pipes shall be extended a minimum of 40 feet into the opening and positioned along the rib to minimize damage to, and movement of, the pipes during backfilling operations.
- Each of the mine entry pipes shall be connected to perforated pipe within the underdrain.
- Backfill material shall be impervious, non-combustible, and contain enough fine material to ensure an airtight seal as it is placed in 2-foot lifts compacted to 90% Proctor dry density. Backfill material used to seal mine openings shall be non-acid producing soil and shall extend for a distance of at least 25 feet into the openings. Existing dry stacked concrete block stoppings shall be shoved inby the 25-foot long earthen seal.
- The backfill material shall be placed in the exposed portal areas:
- to a minimum thickness of 4 feet above the seal drift openings;
- to 4 feet above any visible cracks in the exposed highwall; and
- to at least 4 feet over and above any part of this and any other exposed coal seams.
- The backfill material shall ensure an airtight seal for the coal seam prior to the placement of any scalp rock or coal mine refuse rock over the backfill area.
- The placement of backfill material shall not exceed a 2:1 slope (horizontal: vertical) or 1.3 static safety factor for the mine opening backfill.
Any party to this action desiring a hearing on this matter must file in accordance with 30 C.F.R § 44.14, as within 30 days. The request for hearing must be filed with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, 201 12th Street South, Arlington, Virginia 22202. If a hearing is requested, the request shall contain a concise summary of position on the issues of fact or law desired to be raised by the party requesting the hearing, including specific objections to the proposed decision. A party other than Petitioner who has requested a hearing may also comment upon all issues of fact or law
presented in the petition, and any party to this action requesting a hearing may indicate a desired hearing site.
If no request for a hearing is filed within 30 days after service thereof, the Order will become final and must be posted by the operator on the mine bulletin board at the mine
/s/
Timothy R. Watkins
Deputy Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health
Certificate of Service
I hereby certify that a copy of this proposed decision was served personally or mailed, postage prepaid, or provided by other electronic means this 12th day of January , 2016, to:
Mr. Kenny Williams
Marfork Coal Company, Inc.
POBox457
Whitesville, WV 25193
/s/
Monique G. Banks
Secretary
cc: Eugene White, West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training