2014-10-21_REVISION - M1988044 (5)

Home Browse Search

TR-07 RECLAMATION PLAN REQUIREMENT 4: Backfilling will not utilize"topsoil"materials separately removed from mining areas. (For topsoiling requirements, see that section later in this plan.) Discussion: Topsoil and materials separately saved as topsoil (plant growth medium) are only to be placed on the surface after all backfilling and grading is completed. This is not to say that the deeper backfill materials are not part of the plant growth medium. It can be very much a part of it. However, the best growth material should always go on top of everything else. (TR-07 Note: The area left to be mined has excellent and generally deep soils present.) REQUIREMENT S: The edges of a backfilled area, where it joins natural, unmined land, shall have a broad and gentle transition. To create such a transition, a cut and fill approach may be required. [More on this subject is included in the next section on Grading.] Discussion: The overall landscape does not have abrupt changes in slope. Slope changes are characteristically gentle and span a broad zone. Abrupt changes in slope generally only occur at the edge of drainages where erosion might have locally produced a deeper cut or gully. It is important in the backfill process to insure that these gentle, broad transitions be maintained and sharp breaks in the slope avoided. Part of the material used in backfilling the pit can come from a cut and fill approach around the perimeter of the pit. Although this expands the area needed for topsoiling and revegetation, the benefit of maintaining consistency with the general topographic configuration of the land far outweighs the negative aspect of creating somewhat larger disturbances. In the lease and operations plan that accompanies the lease it is clear that maintaining consistency in topographic configuration is more important than creating smaller disturbances that are more noticeable because "unnatural'transitions had to be created to reduce the amount of disturbance. Grading Requirements OVERVIEW: Grading creates the final topographic configuration. Grading links backfilling and topsoil replacement. In effect, grading is what happens between backfilling and topsoiling. In another sense,backfilling is the process of creating the rough topography and creating the necessary consistency with the maximum elevation difference allowed. Grading fine tunes the backfill process and creates the final surface on which the topsoil (plant growth medium) is placed. Grading is a critical process in that it creates the topography that is intended to remain in place for a very long time. But from a procedural point of view, backfilling and grading can be almost the same thing. That is, when the backfill material is pushed around the mined out pit to create the necessary elevation and rough configuration, grading is the final step which produces a smoother(but not smooth) surface. Coal Creek Sand Resource Amendment 3 (2005)- M-1988-044 Exhibit E Page 10