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drill sites, the requested Phase III released sites are not required to meet the requirements under <br />Rule 3.03.1(2)(c) as the sites fall within areas of permanent disturbances or other disturbances <br />that are currently bonded. <br /> <br />All other sites identified in Table 5 are sites within existing disturbances. All disturbances <br />associated with the drill sites are currently bonded under the existing disturbances. <br /> <br />Summary and Conclusions <br /> <br />Based upon a review of the mine permit, the applicant's bond release application, and site <br />inspections, the Division finds that Bowie Resources, LLC reclaimed the Freeman Gulch vent shaft <br />pad. Due to the destruction of the Freeman Gulch vent shaft site as a result of the July 2007 <br />rockslide of the area, the area is not required to meet Phase III vegetation success criteria. In <br />addition, the drill sites within the disturbance of active and permanent disturbances do not fall under <br />the vegetation success criteria for Phase III bond release. <br /> <br />IV. PROPOSED DECISION <br /> <br />Based on the observations above, the Division proposes to Approve Bowie Resources, LLC's <br />request for a partial Phase I, partial Phase II, and partial Phase III bond release for the Bowie No. 2 <br />Mine. This proposed decision will release the applicant from 82.93 acres of Phase I liability for <br />backfilling, grading, and drainage reestablishment associated with drillhole pads, the Freeman <br />Gulch pad, the Hubbard Creek Pad, associated access roads, and the Pitkin Mesa Pipeline <br />disturbance. This Proposed Decision will also release the applicant from 45.33 acres of Phase II <br />liability for topsoil redistribution and establishment of vegetative cover associated with drillhole <br />pads, the Freeman Gulch pad, the Hubbard Creek Pad, and associated access roads. This Proposed <br />Decision will also release the applicant from 4.1 acres of Phase III liability associated with drillhole <br />pads, the Freeman Gulch pad, and associated access roads within the Freeman Gulch vent shaft <br />landslide area. <br /> <br />When determining the amount to be released under a bond release request, the Division is required <br />to limit the release amounts to the percentages allowed under Rule 3.03.1(2), and ensure that the <br />release amount does not result in the Division holding less bond than would be required to complete <br />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 /> <br />The reclamation liability for the Bowie No. 2 Mine prior to any approved bond releases was <br />calculated with this Bond Release No. 1 (SL-01) to be $12,039,262.00. The Division did not <br />approve any additional revisions to the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit after the reclamation cost estimate <br />associated with this SL-01 application. Therefore, the determination of maximum release amounts <br />is based on a total of $12,039,262.00. <br /> <br /> <br />