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Submittal of Bond Release Application and Completeness Determination by the <br />Division <br />The Division received PSCM's bond release application SL -2 on July 17, 2013. The <br />application was found complete on September 4, 2013, after the Division received proof of <br />publication of the applicant's public notice. The completeness determination was made in <br />accordance with Section 3.03.2(1)(d). <br />PSCM submitted the bond release application following the procedures described in the Act <br />and Regulations. The application also utilized the Division's Guideline Regarding Selected <br />Coal Mine Bond Release Issues, dated April 18, 1995. <br />Public Notice <br />PSCM published notice of the bond release application in the Steamboat Pilot once weekly <br />for four consecutive weeks, beginning on July 21, 2013. PSCM also notified landowners <br />within and adjacent to the mine permit area, and other interested parties of the application for <br />bond release, as required by section 3.03.2(1). The Division received no written comments, <br />objections, or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release application. <br />Bond Release Inspection <br />The Division scheduled and conducted a bond release inspection on September 18, 2013. <br />The site inspection was conducted in accordance with Section 3.03.2(2). Jason Musick <br />represented the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety. The operator was <br />represented by Scott Cowman of Peabody Energy. The Office of Surface Mining and the <br />Colorado State Land Board were notified of the inspection and declined to attend. Based on <br />this inspection, it was determined that no maintenance issues or compliance concerns were <br />identified. <br />III. APPROVAL CRITERIA FOR BOND RELEASE <br />Pre -Law Areas <br />All affected lands within the SL -02 bond release application area fall within the Pre -Law <br />category. Pre -law areas are defined as those lands which were mined prior to the passage of the <br />Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act ( SMCRA) and the Federal interim rules which took <br />effect on May 5, 1978. The pre -law areas are those lands where coal was removed prior to May <br />5, 1978. For the lands mined prior to the passage of the SMCRA, the Colorado Open Cut Land <br />Reclamation Act of 1969, the Colorado Open Mining Land Reclamation Act of 1973, and the <br />Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act of 1976 regulated surface coal mining activities in <br />Colorado. <br />The reclamation standards under Colorado laws prior to SMCRA including bond release criteria <br />must coincide with the law and the permit in effect at the time reclamation was conducted. <br />Peabody Sage Creek Mine Page 7 January 30, 2014 <br />Full Bond Release <br />