2016-01-05_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981008

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No adequacy questions were raised by DRMS, OSMRE or the landowners during the inspection or during the application review. III. Criteria and Schedule for Bond Release PHASE I Rule 3.03.1(2)(a) states, "Up to sixty percent of the applicable bond amount shall be released when the permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, and drainage control in accordance with the approved reclamation plan." With regard to Phase I bond release, the approved reclamation plan for the New Horizon Mine calls for the lands owned by the Morgan's to be returned to approximate original contour with a drainage pattern similar to the pre -mine conditions. In areas of minor topographic change, the land has been improved by having a more consistent slope over broad areas, which will facilitate irrigation. The average slope will be 3.0% and the steepest slope will be 14.7%. IV. Obseivations and Findings PHASE Backfilling of the Morgan property started in approximately 2007 after the mining highwall passed the 2700 Road. As the highwall advanced, Bench 1 material was pushed to the back of the pit which started the backfilling process. Backfill and grading happened contemporaneously while mining the Morgan property until the final grading in 2015. All highwalls were removed or backfilled and there were no variances from approximate original contour. An irrigation system was installed to support the post -mining land use of irrigated cropland. The irrigation system consisted of a 1328' radius center pivot, a 615' radius center pivot, buried power lines and water lines to the center pivots, four irrigation siderolls and buried water lines with risers for the sideroll water supply. No sediment control devices such as permanent drainages, ditches or waddles were installed in the middle of the property because they would interfere with the irrigation systems. Most of the water runoff from the property is being directed to Pond 13, which is off the Morgan property but still in the NH2 permit boundary. The remainder of the runoff is treated with straw waddles around the perimeter of the field. Montrose County built the former BB Detour Road from the end of BB 27 (by the Morgan house) to the BB Road for resident access during mining operations. The road was on the Morgan's property but was not originally part of the NH2 permit. During reclamation of the Morgan's property, the Morgans asked that the road be reclaimed with their topsoil (savaged during mine operations) to the same standards as the reclaimed fields. To accommodate this request, the detour road was incorporated into the permit in TR - 65 on April 7, 2015 and was subsequently reclaimed to the standards outlined in the permit for the Morgan property.