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September 7, 2016 C-1981-019/Colowyo Coal Mine ZTT <br /> <br /> <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 3 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 1 <br /> <br /> Page 2 of 6 <br /> <br /> <br />Inspection Topic Summary <br />NOTE: Y=Inspected N=Not Inspected R=Comments Noted V=Violation Issued NA=Not Applicable <br />N - Air Resource Protection <br />N - Availability of Records <br />N - Backfill & Grading <br />N - Excess Spoil and Dev. Waste <br />N - Explosives <br />N - Fish & Wildlife <br />N - Hydrologic Balance <br />R - Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan <br />N - Other <br />N - Processing Waste <br /> <br />N - Roads <br />N - Reclamation Success <br />R - Revegetation <br />N - Subsidence <br />N - Slides and Other Damage <br />N - Support Facilities On-site <br />N - Signs and Markers <br />N - Support Facilities Not On-site <br />N - Special Categories Of Mining <br />N - Topsoil <br /> <br /> <br />COMMENTS <br /> <br />This was a Phase III bond release inspection at the Colowyo Mine conducted by Zach Trujillo and Janet Binns of <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) on September 7, 2016. Tony Tennyson, Angela <br />Aalbers, and Kurtis Blunt representing Colowyo Coal Company (Colowyo), as well as Tom Medlim of the Office <br />of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) accompained the inspection.This inspection covered the <br />vegetation establishment requirements for the bond release application SL-10. SL10 is a Phase III bond release <br />request encompassing 202.4 acres. All requested parcels have previously received Phase I and Phase II bond <br />release approval. The weather was cloudy with no precipitation and ground conditions were mostly dry. <br />Temperatures for the day were around eighty degrees fahrenheit. <br />GENERAL MINE PLAN COMPLIANCE: <br />There were small areas of noxious weeds, usually Canada thistle, but they had been treated and were showing <br />signs of chemical uptake and die off. None of the areas with Canada thistle would be considered an infestation. <br />Some thinner vegetative patches were noted, primarily in EP39, and EP40. None of these patches were large, or in <br />any frequency that would be considered problematic. <br /> <br />REVEGETATION – Rule 4.15 <br />Vegetative Cover; Timing: <br />Once in the field, the inspection started in the East Pit reclaimed parcels. East Pit parcels that were inspected <br />included EP42, EP43, EP36, EP44, EP36, EP38, EP41, EP37, EP40, and EP39. Vegetation throughout the <br />reclaimed East Pit parcels was thick, with good, diverse vegetative cover. Rills and gullies were not present. <br />Visually observed species noted in the reclaimed East Pit parcels included Kentucky bluegrass, Thickspike <br />wheatgrass, Slender wheatgrass, Meadow brome, occasional Curly cup gumweed, occasional Canada thistle, Great <br />basin wildrye, Russian wildrye, and yarrow. Woody stem species are present in the reclaimed parcels as well as in <br />the shrub plots, fenced and unfenced. Woody species observed included Sagebrush, Rabbitbrush and Antelope <br />bitterbrush. In one of the fenced shrub plots, healthy Russian olives had grown to 10 to 12 feet high. There was