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Golf Course Reclamation <br />The northwest corner of the original permit area (approximately 10 acres) fell within the <br />area planned for development of a golf course and ancillary facilities. To facilitate <br />construction of the golf course facility, Oakridge Energy requested that the explosives <br />bench and access road be left in their current configuration. Based on this request, <br />liability release from CDRMS was sought for this area. CDRMS approved this release in <br />1997. Subsequent to the liability release, the area was excised from the Carbon Junction <br />Mine permit area (CDRMS TR07). <br />2.05.4(4) Remaining Reclamation <br />There is no known reclamation remaining at the Carbon Junction Mine, except as noted <br />above with regard to water wells. Oakridge has received approvals for permits from the <br />Colorado Division of Water Resources to retain these wells for residential purposes. <br />Retained Features Requested by the Surface Landowner <br />Oakridge Energy, Inc., as surface landowner, has requested the following surface features <br />be left post -mining and reclamation to facilitate their post -mining uses (Appendix 5-13): <br />seven access and light use roads or road segments, topsoil piles 4 and 7 (previously <br />approved for retention in TR16), water wells PW1 and 95-1 (DWR/SEO permits in <br />Appendix 5-13), a secondary surface drainage, and the exclusion of woody plants in any <br />reclamation on the property. <br />2.05.5 Post -Mining Land Uses <br />2.05.5a Historical Perspective <br />Land uses on Ewing Mesa prior to development of the Carbon Junction Mine included <br />coal mining (at the outcrop in Carbon Junction Canyon), sandstone quarrying (north of <br />Ewing Mesa Road at the first switchback), dryland agriculture, livestock range, and <br />passive wildlife habitat. <br />The Carbon Junction Mine was originally permitted in the early 1980's by the <br />predecessor of Oakridge Energy, Inc., Pueblo Coal, Inc. At the time of the initial <br />permitting, the intention of Pueblo Coal was to reclaim the mine to the post -mining land <br />uses of wildlife habitat with some cropland. The Carbon Junction Mine operated <br />between 1982 and 1987 for coal extraction. <br />During the mid -1990's La Plata County and the City of Durango experienced a surge of <br />population growth, with a corresponding demand for residential and commercial <br />development, services, infrastructure improvements, and recreational opportunities. To <br />address these demands, Oakridge Energy (which had succeeded to and re -permitted the <br />Carbon Junction Mine in 1992), opted to plan for mixed industrial and commercial, <br />residential, and recreational on Ewing Mesa lands, including the area within the Carbon <br />Abridged Permit Document 5-17 Permit Revision PROI 9/2014 <br />