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Permit Revocation and Bond Forfeiture <br />The operator of the Coal Basin Mines, Mid - Continent Resources declared bankruptcy in 1992. <br />Subsequently, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board revoked the permit on August 26, 1992 <br />and forfeited the reclamation bond on September 23, 1993. As a result of these actions, the <br />Division assumed the task of accomplishing reclamation of the site in 1994, as provided for in the <br />Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act. <br />Mid - Continent Resources had begun reclamation operations at the Coal Basin Mine in 1991 <br />continuing through 1992 and 1993. In 1994, after bond forfeiture, the Division assumed <br />reclamation authority and completed reclamation work at the mine site. <br />III. Reclamation Funding <br />The Coal Basin Mine is a permit- revoked, reclamation bond forfeited site. The entire amount of <br />forfeited reclamation bond has been used for reclamation of the site. No surplus money is <br />available for return to the former permittee, and the former permittee is not due any monetary <br />consideration as a result of this Termination of Jurisdiction process. <br />The Division primarily acquired funds to conduct reclamation of the Coal Basin Mine from Mid - <br />Continent Resources bankruptcy proceeding and a subsequent District Court action, with <br />supplemental funding provided by other sources. The District Court action (Board of County <br />Commissioners v. Mid - Continent Resources, Inc v. MidCon Realty, LLC v. State of Colorado; 97 CV <br />131 -1), (Pitkin County District Court) resulted in a Settlement Agreement which, consistent with the <br />statutory reclamation requirements of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act, specified <br />the reclamation activities that the Division would undertake on private property owned at the time <br />by MidCon Realty, LLC, a sister corporation to the bankrupt Mid - Continent Resources. The private <br />property within the permit boundary was acquired by Acacia, LLC in 2004. Termination of <br />jurisdiction for the private property was completed on February 4, 2008. The private property legal <br />description is found in the Findings of Compliance and Proposed Decision for Termination of <br />Jurisdiction (SL -1) —Coal Basin Mine. <br />Reclamation was substantially funded by proceeds of the Mid - Continent Resources bankruptcy <br />proceeding. The bankruptcy plan provided funds for reclamation of the site; however funds only <br />became available as liquidation of company assets was completed. As a result, funding for <br />reclamation work only became available on a periodic basis. Reclamation work was completed on <br />a priority basis within the constraints of available funding. <br />6 <br />