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failure on the part of Western Fuels and its agent constituted a breach of the contract and <br />a violation of state statutes and regulations. <br />Damages <br />The Court concludes that the conduct of Western Fuels caused damages suffered <br />by Frank and Mary Lou Morgan, the fee owners of the property. While the scientific <br />evidence was mixed and contested, this Court concludes that the better evidence is that as <br />a result of the conduct of Western Fuels, it is unlikely that reclamation will result in soils <br />equal to or better than pre -mined soils and that the productivity of the soil at final <br />reclamation will be somewhat less productive. <br />Western Fuels denies that any damages have accrued, asserting that reclamation <br />under the existing approved plan has only begun and it is speculative at best that <br />reclamation will not result in the property being as productive as it was in its pre -mined <br />state. They note that they have 10 years from initial seeding to accomplish reclamation. <br />They argue that a determination of damages is premature. They rely of the evidence of <br />their experts that reclamation is likely to be successful. Further they argue that the <br />Morgans have offered no evidence of diminished market value of the property or any <br />measure of the dollar amount of loss of production they may experience. This Court <br />concludes that notwithstanding these arguments, some damage has resulted from the <br />breach of the lease and state requirements by Western Fuels. <br />On the evidence presented, the Court cannot quantify the damages with <br />exactatude. Mr. Morgan and Ms. Turner testified to calculations of the amount of soil <br />removed and cost of replacement in the most general terms. They claim the cost of full <br />replacement of the soils removed would be $1.9 million. Among other things, that figure <br />is based upon an assumption that almost 200,000 cubic yards of topsoil were removed. <br />This Court concludes that their calculation of the amount of soil removed grossly <br />overstates the true amount. The Court accepts Western Fuels evidence that 20,000 cubic <br />yards were removed. This Court concludes that an award of $200,000 will appropriately <br />compensate the Morgans for loss of productive capacity of the land at final reclamation. <br />