In the matter of: Petition for Modification
Marfork Coal Company, Inc.
Marfork Processing
Low Gap Refuse Disposal Area
I.D. No. 46-08374 Docket No. M-2019-056-C
PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER
On October 9, 2019, a petition was filed seeking a modification of the application of 30 Code of Federal Regulations (30 C.F.R.) § 77.214(a) to Petitioner’s Low Gap Refuse Disposal Area located in Raleigh County, West Virginia. 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.
The petitioned standard, 30 Code of Federal Regulations (30 CFR) § 77.214(a) states, in relevant part,
(a) 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 Raleigh County, West Virginia. The expansion is being proposed in order backfill and cover six abandoned mine portals and allow for additional Coarse Coal Refuse (CCR) disposal. The openings are associated with the abandoned C & O Railway Fuel Mine Operations, Sarita & Dorothy Mines which were pre-law mines located in the Winifrede coal seam. The refuse facility has been assigned I.D. No. 1211WV40234-01.
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 investigators conducted an investigation of Marfork Coal Company, Inc.’s Low Gap Refuse Disposal Area on December 16, 2019.
The Low Gap Refuse Disposal Area is located in Raleigh County, West Virginia on Route 3 approximately 3 miles southwest of Whitesville, West Virginia. Marfork Coal Company, Inc., has been the mine operator since December 1, 1993. The refuse facility was started in 1995 and has been used for coarse coal refuse disposal in conjunction with the plant’s Brushy Fork Slurry Impoundment.
As part of the investigation, the proposed petition was discussed with two equipment operators working on the refuse disposal area during the day shift. After providing the miners with a description of the proposed backfilling of the openings, 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. There are no miner’s representatives designated at this facility and the petition has been posted on the mine bulletin board. 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 abandoned C & O Railway Fuel Mine Operations, Sarita & Dorothy Mines.
The portal areas of the Sarita & Dorothy Mines are located within the proposed footprint of the expansion of the Low Gap Refuse Area and contains a set of entries, consisting of six mine portals located in the Winifrede coal seam. The coal seam elevation ranges from approximately 2000 feet to 2030 feet. The refuse area has been developed utilizing the hollow fill method by placing coarse coal refuse in nearly horizontal lifts of 2 feet in thickness. The Low Gap Branch hollow has been progressively filled with coarse refuse and the current work surface elevation ranges from 1900 feet at the rear of the disposal area to an approximate elevation of 1850 feet at the crest area.
The Winifrede coal seam dips to the northwest and five of the six mine openings (Entry #1- Entry #5) are located on the south side of the hollow and are considered to be on the down dip side of the mine. The sixth mine opening (Entry #6) is located on the north side of the hollow with the coal seam dipping away from the refuse area. See Figure 1. There is no evidence of water discharging from any of the six mine openings. Any water that could potentially discharge from the mine openings would discharge into the existing diversion ditch located on the Winifrede coal seam bench. Two mine openings are partially open whereas the other four are sealed with dirt and rock and there are no existing drainage pipes installed in any of the entries.
The existing backfill material will be excavated from the abandoned mine openings and each opening will be sealed in accordance with the drawings provided in the “Typical Mine Opening Seal” plan as depicted on the “Mine Seal Details, Low Gap Refuse
Disposal Facility” detail drawing submitted to and received by the Mount Hope District Office on January 22, 2020. (See attachment “Figure 2”) Drain pipes shall be placed a minimum of 40 feet inby the openings and positioned along the rib to minimize damage from backfilling operations. All drain pipes used within the drainage system shall be 8 inch outside diameter, high density polyethylene (HDPE) with a standard dimension ratio (SDR) equal to 11. The mine openings will be back-stowed with soil or rock or a flowable fill material (JennChem Tek Seal or equivalent) to a minimum length of 25 feet as specified in 30 CFR 75.1711-2 and shown on the design drawings. Two separate underdrains, consisting of durable rock cobbles and perforated pipe, wrapped in filter fabric shall be installed along the length of the Winifrede benches and constructed at the base of the highwall along all of the mine openings. The underdrains will be constructed in accordance with the “Mine Underdrain” detail as depicted on the “Underdrain Details, Low Gap Refuse Disposal Facility” drawing submitted to and received by the Mount Hope District Office on January 22, 2020. (See attachment “Figure 3”) One underdrain will be located on the north side of the refuse fill extending in a westerly direction and providing drainage for Entry #6. The second underdrain will be constructed on the south side of the refuse fill and also extends westerly providing drainage for Entries #1 through #5. Each of the mine entry pipes shall be connected to a pipe and placed adjacent to the main underdrain pipe. Both underdrains are to be constructed on the Winifrede seam benches located on the north and south sides of the refuse fill and will provide a controlled outlet in the event that water accumulates near the sealed mine openings. The benches have an approximate 2.5% grade drop in the westerly direction allowing for adequate positive drainage from all six mine entries. The underdrains will discharge into the refuse fill perimeter diversion ditches.
Upon completion of the mine sealing and underdrain construction, additional nonrefuse material shall be placed at the openings and along the exposed coal seam to result in covering the seam with at least four feet of non-combustible material as shown in the detail drawings. The fill material is to be verified as impervious, non-combustible material (surface spoil) which will subsequently be 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 six portal drift openings of the abandoned C & O Railways, Sarita and Dorothy Mines in conjunction with the continued expansion of the existing Low Gap Refuse Disposal Area.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Mine Safety and Health Enforcement, 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 C & O Railway Fuel Mine Operations, Sarita and Dorothy Mines is hereby:
GRANTED, to allow placement of backfill material and coarse coal refuse at site I.D. No. 1211WV40234-01 to cover six portal drift openings of the abandoned C & O Railway Fuel Mine Operations, Sarita and Dorothy Mines, conditioned upon full compliance of the petitioner with the following terms and conditions:
1. The abandoned C & O Railway Fuel Mine Operations, Sarita and Dorothy Mines are located in the Winifrede coal seam which dips to the northwest. Existing punchout areas located down dip of the mine entries and outside the footprint of the Low Gap Refuse Facility shall be maintained as free draining to preclude the potential for accumulation of water within the mine entries proposed to be backfilled and covered.
2. Existing canopies, pipes, and loose debris shall be removed prior to placing the backfill.
3. All sloughed overburden material shall be removed for at least 12 feet in front of and to either side of the six exposed mine openings to allow placement of backfill material for sealing.
4. An underdrain system consisting of durable rock cobbles and a perforated 8 inch diameter SDR 11 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.
5. An 8-inch diameter; SDR 11 pipe shall be installed into each of the six 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.
6. Each of the mine entry pipes shall be connected to perforated pipe within the underdrain.
7. 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 and compacted to at least 90% of the maximum dry density as defined by the Standard Proctor test. 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.
8. The backfill material shall be placed in the exposed portal areas:
(a) to a minimum thickness of 4 feet above the seal drift openings;
(b) to 4 feet above any visible cracks in the exposed highwall; and
(c) to at least 4 feet over and above any exposed coal seams.
9. The backfill material shall ensure an impervious seal for the coal seam prior to the placement of any scalp rock or coal mine refuse rock over the backfill area.
10. The placement of backfill material shall not exceed a 2:1 slope (horizontal: vertical) or otherwise provide a static safety factor of 1.3 for the mine opening backfill.
11. The mine operator shall notify the MSHA District Manager of the anticipated date that the mine sealing operations will begin and MSHA inspectors shall be given ample opportunity to observe the sealing operations. The mine operator must provide a certification, by a licensed professional engineer, upon completion of the sealing of the six mine entries. The engineer’s certification shall contain a statement that the mine openings were sealed and the underdrains constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications provided in this petition for modification and shall include pertinent documentation such as photographs, soil compaction records, Standard Proctor test results, slope stability analysis and any other relevant quality assurance data to verify compliance with the terms and conditions outlined herein.
Any party to this action desiring a hearing on this matter must file in accordance with 30 C.F.R. § 44.14 within 30 days. The request for the hearing must be filed with the Administrator for Mine Safety and Health Enforcement, 201 12th Street South, Arlington, Virginia 22202-5450.
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 the 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 Proposed Decision and Order will become final and must be posted by the operator on the mine bulletin board at the mine.
/s/
Timothy R. Watkins,
Administrator for Mine Safety and Health
Enforcement
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 June , 2020, to:
Kenneth Williams,
Chief Engineer
Marfork Coal Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 457
Whitesville, WV 25209
kenny.williams@conturaenergy.com
/s/
Robert Roark
Mine Safety and Health Specialist
cc: Mr. Eugene White, Director, Office of Miners’ Health Safety & Training, #7
Players Club Dr. Suite 2, Charleston, WV 25311
Eugene.E.White@wv.gov