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reclamation of the site in the event of a forfeiture (Rule 3.03.1(3)3(d)). A review of the minimum
<br />bond retention amount, compared to the estimated costs to complete the remaining tasks for which
<br />liability has not been released, indicates that the Division may not release the maximum amount
<br />allowed under Rule 3.03.1(2) for this SL -05 bond release request.
<br />The reclamation liability for the Bowie No. 1 Mine prior to any approved bond releases was
<br />calculated with Permit Renewal No. 4 (RN -04) to be $6,879,590.12. The Division subsequently
<br />approved four Minor Revisions and eleven Technical Revisions prior to any approved bond
<br />releases, totaling $118,677.31 in reclamation liability. The total pre-release liability for the site
<br />should therefore have been $6,998,267.43 ($6,879,590.12 + $118,677.31). Unfortunately,
<br />approvals of bond release applications SL -02, SL -03, and SL -04 were based on the $6,879,590.12
<br />amount, instead of the $6,998,267.43 amount. The Division proposes to correct this with SL -05.
<br />Therefore, the determination of maximum release amounts (Table 1) is based on a total of
<br />$6,998,267.43.
<br />Table 1
<br />Table 2
<br />East Mine
<br />West Mine
<br />East Mine
<br />West Mine
<br />Loadout
<br />Total
<br />Phase I - 60% $1,759,323.06
<br />$635,764.19
<br />$1,803,873.21
<br />$4,198,960.46
<br />Phase II - 25 % $733,051.28
<br />$264,901.75
<br />$751,613.84
<br />$1,749,566.87
<br />Phase III - 15% $439,830.771
<br />$158,941.051
<br />$450,968.30
<br />$1,049,740.12
<br />Total 1 $2,932,205.11
<br />$1,059,606.99
<br />1 $3,006,455.35
<br />1 $6,998,267.43
<br />Table 2
<br />Based on the Division's review of the previous bond release decisions (SL -02, SL -03, and SL -04),
<br />the Division has now determined that the amount of liability previously released was in excess of
<br />the amounts allowed by Rule 3.03.1(2). A comparison of previously released amounts relative to
<br />the maximum amounts allowed is shown in Table 3.
<br />The maximum release amount for SL -02 was based on the $6,879,590.12 RN -04 total. With the
<br />approval of SL -02, the Division granted Phase I release on 13.1 acres and approved the release of
<br />$709,004.00. However, the release total should have been no more than $473,199.29 (74.43% (13.1
<br />acres/17.6 acres) of 60% of the original RN -04 liability for the West Mine of $1,059,606.99).
<br />Therefore, the Division "over -released" $235,804.71 ($709,004.00 - $473,199.29) when it approved
<br />SL -02.
<br />With the approval of SL -03 and SL -04, the Division released $1,713,346.70. However, the total
<br />East Mine
<br />West Mine
<br />Loadout
<br />Proposed
<br />Released
<br />% of
<br />Acres Acreage
<br />Proposed
<br />Release
<br />% of
<br />Acres Acreage
<br />Proposed % of
<br />Released Acres Acreage
<br />Phase I
<br />$0.00
<br />0.00 =0.0091.O.
<br />1.00 5.70%
<br />$0.00 0.00 0.00%
<br />Phase II
<br />1 $76,677.16
<br />10.20 10.46%1
<br />$197,166.37
<br />13.10 74.43%
<br />$0.00 0.00 0.00%
<br />*per Rule 3.03.1(2) the Division could release $36,238.56 (5.7% of 60%); no release is proposed based on SL -02 as noted in Table 3
<br />Based on the Division's review of the previous bond release decisions (SL -02, SL -03, and SL -04),
<br />the Division has now determined that the amount of liability previously released was in excess of
<br />the amounts allowed by Rule 3.03.1(2). A comparison of previously released amounts relative to
<br />the maximum amounts allowed is shown in Table 3.
<br />The maximum release amount for SL -02 was based on the $6,879,590.12 RN -04 total. With the
<br />approval of SL -02, the Division granted Phase I release on 13.1 acres and approved the release of
<br />$709,004.00. However, the release total should have been no more than $473,199.29 (74.43% (13.1
<br />acres/17.6 acres) of 60% of the original RN -04 liability for the West Mine of $1,059,606.99).
<br />Therefore, the Division "over -released" $235,804.71 ($709,004.00 - $473,199.29) when it approved
<br />SL -02.
<br />With the approval of SL -03 and SL -04, the Division released $1,713,346.70. However, the total
<br />
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