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in the original permit area. Mining in the South Extension Area proceeded directly from the <br />final cut in the A pit. Wadge Coal pit extraction and progressive development was parallel to the <br />cropline. The South Extension Area added coal recovery in the Sage Creek and Wolf Creek <br />reserves. Mining was completed and coal extraction at Seneca II -W ceased in early January <br />2006. Reclamation of pit areas was completed in 2007; narrowing of permanent roads was <br />completed in August 2011, and facilities areas were regraded in September 2011. During the <br />spring runoff of 2011, the Seneca II -W reclaimed areas experienced numerous new and <br />reactivated landslides, slumps and mudflows. SCC, the Division, the Colorado Geological <br />Survey and North West Colorado Consultants discussed the instability issues and SCC submitted <br />a plan to address the damages caused by the spring 2011 runoff. This plan is located in <br />Attachment 20 -E of Tab 20 of the Seneca II -W permit application package. The work to <br />remediate these disturbances was completed in 2011 and 2012. <br />All pits have all been entirely backfilled and graded, topsoil has been redistributed and seeding <br />and planting have been completed in all locations of the mine site. <br />Permit, Performance Bond, and Bond Release History <br />The permanent program mining permit was issued on December 31, 1985. Five successive <br />permit renewals have been approved subsequent to the initial permanent program permit <br />approval; the most recent, Permit Renewal No. 5, was issued December 10, 2010, for a permit <br />term that will expire December 31, 2015. The Division currently holds a reclamation bond in the <br />amount of $5,818,456.00. Required surety prior to approval of this bond release application is <br />$5,016,991.00. <br />Seneca Coal Company has applied for four previous bond releases: SL -1 was submitted on July 16, <br />2006 and withdrawn on March 21, 2007; SL -2 was submitted on August 17, 2009 and partially <br />approved on May 7, 2010; SL -3 was submitted on July 14, 2010 and was partially approved on <br />March 21, 2011; and SL -4 was submitted on November 15, 2012 and partially approved on <br />December 19, 2013. <br />SL -2 Phase I Bond Release Application <br />The total permit area at the Seneca II -W Mine encompasses 3,878.50 acres of which 1,539.5 acres <br />were disturbed (TR73, 7/1/2011). In bond release application SL -2, SCC requested Phase I release <br />of 1,166.2 reclaimed acres. The SL -2 release request applied to the original and South Extension <br />mine areas. SCCs application requested release of approximately 766 acres of the Original Area <br />and 400 acres of the South Extension Area. Excluded from the SL -2 application were haul road <br />segments that have not yet been reclaimed or modified for postmining use, mine shop facilities, <br />topsoil stockpiles, and sedimentation ponds and stock ponds that have not yet been approved for <br />permanent retention. The Division approved release of 721.9 acres. SL -2 was approved May 7, <br />2010. Specifically excluded were: <br />Page 7 of 18 <br />