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TABLE OF CONTENTS <br />PAGE <br />I. ISSUE ON APPEAL ....................................................................... ............................... 1 <br />II. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... ............................... 1 <br />III. OVERVIEW OF COAL MINING REGULATION IN COLORADO, THE BOARD, <br />ANDTHE DIVISION ......................................................................... ............................... 3 <br />A. The Board and Division Have Exclusive Regulatory Authority OverCoal Mining <br />inColorado ............................................................................. ............................... 3 <br />B. Colorado's Mined Land Reclamation Board ............................... ............................... 4 <br />C. Colorado's Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety ............. ............................... 4 <br />IV. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS .................................................... ............................... 5 <br />A. Factual Background .................................................................. ............................... 5 <br />1. Permit and Mining History on the Morgan Property ................... ............................... <br />5 <br />2. Determination of Prime Farmland in the Permit Boundary ......... ............................... <br />6 <br />B. The Division's Administrative Review and Proposed Approval of PR -6 ....................... 7 <br />1. Public Commentary and Involvement in Reviewing PR -6 ............ ............................... <br />7 <br />2. The Division's Technical Review of PR- 6 .................................. ............................... <br />8 <br />C. The Board's Affirmance of PR -6's Proposed Approval ................ ............................... 9 <br />V. ARGUMENT .............................................................................. ............................... <br />10 <br />A. Standard of Review ................................................................ ............................... <br />10 <br />B. The Board Considered all Factors Required by the Act and Substantial <br />Evidence Supports the Approving PR- 6 .................................... ............................... <br />12 <br />1. Post Mining Land Use Approved in PR -6 is Supported by Substantial Evidence ......... <br />14 <br />a. Irrigated Cropland ....................................................... ............................... <br />15 <br />b. Topography and Hydrology .......................................... ............................... <br />15 <br />c. Irrigation Design, Irrigation Method, and Crop Selection . ............................... <br />16 <br />i. PR -6's Approved Irrigation Method and Crop Selection Resulted from <br />Consultation with the Plaintiffs and Approval by NRCS ........................... <br />16 <br />ii. PR -6's Combined Irrigation Methods are Consistent with Plaintiffs' <br />Historic Irrigation Methods ..................................... ............................... <br />17 <br />d. Conclusion ................................................................. ............................... <br />18 <br />2. Substantial Evidence Supports Topsoil Resource Management and Prime <br />i <br />