A Responsible Mine is a $30-$year old underground mine located in a rural town with a population of $5000$ inhabitants. Its surface facilities include a Process plant, offices, and a $50-$ha tailing storage facility. The mine recently lost all its monitoring data and historical reports on the tailings facility and requires a consultant to conduct some fieldwork and a proposal to manage the facility. The mine is also near the end of life with $5$ years before closure. There is a legal requirement to remediate the site including the tailing facility which is near a wetland fed by tributaries which also supports the livelihoods of a small fishing community in the town.

a$.$ Provide a high$-$level approach to providing the mine with a geotechnical monitoring & closure plan for the facility, considering its active current use and future use. Make assumptions about its volume and discharge rates.

b$.$ The local authorities inform you that full closure is not an option as the water impoundment by the dam is a source of water supply for agricultural activities. $3$ weeks later, you learn that the geologist's and mining engineers' mine plan is almost under your tailings facility and they are working on a dewatering strategy. You are alarmed and need to take some immediate steps. Provide a summary of your steps.