2016-04-25_INSPECTION - M1977081

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PERMIT #: M-1977-081 INSPECTOR’S INITIALS: PSH INSPECTION DATE: April 11, 2016 Page 2 of 8 OBSERVATIONS The Greeley West site was inspected by Peter Hays with the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division/DRMS) in response to an acreage reduction request (AR‐03) filed by the Operator on February 9, 2016. The Division is required by Rule 4.17.2 to inspect the lands and reclamation described in the request to determine if the Permittee has complied with all applicable requirements. Ms. Anastasia Strazhko with the City of Greeley (City) and Mr. Bill Schenderlein with Blue Earth representing the City were present during the inspection. The site was previously inspected by the Division on December 10, 2015 for the AR‐02 request. The previous acreage release request was denied by the Division. The Division will approve the acreage reduction request (AR‐03) based on the observations from this inspection. The Greeley West site is permitted for 203.13 acres. The Operator requested a release of 126.48 acres from Greeley West site, leaving 76.65 permitted acres. The remaining permit area will consist of two separate parcels, the 38.49 acre north parcel located north of the Cache La Poudre River and the 38.16 acre parcel owned by Cottonwood Land and Farms, LLC (Cottonwood) located in the southeast corner of the site. The north parcel consists of 38.25 acres owned by Cottonwood and the 0.24 acre access easement to O Street leased from Flatirons Sand and Gravel Company. The Division received comments from the Colorado Division of Water Resources. A copy of the letter is attached for the Operator’s file. 126.48 acre release area The 126.48 acre release area consists of 119.61 acres permitted under the active City of Greeley 25th Avenue Site (M‐2002‐020), 2.31 acres for the railroad easement in the southwest corner of the site, 3.38 acres for the 35th Street easement along the west side of the site, and 1.18 acres for the Poudre Trail easements in the northeast corner of the site. The railroad, 35th Ave and Poudre Trail easements were previously released from the 25th Avenue Site. The Division will approve the requested release area, since the majority of the area is permitted under an active permit and the remaining easement areas were undisturbed by mining activities. 38.16 acre southeast corner parcel The southeast parcel remaining in Greeley West site was observed during the inspection. The parcel is defined by 25th Ave to the east, fence on the north and west boundaries and the tops of the pond berms to the north and fence line and F Street to the south. Since the previous inspection, the landowner has completed the east pond regrading to 3H:1V, repaired the erosion gullies in the northeast corner of the east pond, spread the stockpiled topsoil over the parcel and revegetated the site. The seed mix used to revegetate the site is unknown. Drill seed rows and crimped straw were observed. The house and tennis court were reclaimed as part of the reclamation of the parcel. The road berm along the shared boundary with the 25th Ave Site along the north boundary of the parcel has been moved to the 25th Ave site. 38.49 acre north parcel The northern 38.49 acre parcel remaining in Greeley West site was observed during the inspection. The parcel is defined by the Poudre River to the south, 35th Ave to the west and fence lines to the north and west. The parcel was unchanged since the previous inspection.