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A bond release inspection was scheduled and conducted on May 11, 2016. The site inspection was <br />conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Inspection attendees included: Zach Trujillo of the <br />Division; Tom Medlin of OSM; and Tony Tennyson, Angela Aalbers and Kurtis Blunt of <br />Colowyo. No representatives from Bureau of Land Management (BLM), State or local agencies, <br />or adjacent land owners attended the inspection; however, all parties were notified of the inspection <br />via certified mail. A summary of the bond release inspection are presented in Section IV, below. <br />Detailed observations of the inspection are documented in the inspection report that was issued June <br />1, 2016. See Figure 1 for the location of the SL -09 partial Phase I Bond Release area. <br />III. CRITERIA FOR BOND RELEASE <br />Phase I Bond Release <br />The Division evaluated Colowyo's request for partial Phase I Bond Release on 65.6 acres in the SL - <br />09 application, as shown on Figures 1 - 3 of this document. The process of releasing the <br />reclamation bond for a coal mine site in Colorado is explained in Rule 3.03 and further described in <br />the Division's 1995 Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mining Bond Release Issues. The bond <br />release process involves three phases. At Phase I, Rule 3.03.1(2) (a) states, "Up to sixty percent of <br />the applicable bond amount shall be released when the permittee successfully completes backfilling, <br />regrading, and drainage control in accordance with the approved reclamation plan." <br />Evaluation and inspection of the reclaimed areas was based on the specific requirements of the <br />reclamation plan and the functional requirements of the post -mining land use. Criteria for bond <br />release included the following. <br />1. Hillslope and drainage channel gradients and general design compliance; <br />2. Performance of the reconstructed topography. Symptoms of failure or instabilities such as <br />slumping or exposed highwalls were examined; <br />3. Hillslope design/function with regard to erosion; <br />4. Swales and depressions with regard to numbers of features and effect on post -mining land <br />use; <br />5. Blending of regraded land to undisturbed areas; <br />6. The functioning of drainages with regard to knickpoints, blending at disturbance boundaries <br />and channel erosion; <br />7. Erosional features; and <br />8. Drainage control for the reclaimed area, including upslope diversions. <br />Colowyo's approved reclamation plan was prepared in accordance with Rule 2.05.4. Colowyo was <br />granted a variance for contemporaneous reclamation for the East Pit, West Pit and the South <br />Taylor Pit due to the nature of multi -seam mining. Backfilling and rough grading commenced <br />once a steady-state condition was reached in each of the pits. <br />The approved backfilling and grading plan for the Colowyo Mine is found in Volume 1 (East and <br />West Pit) and Volume 12 (South Taylor) of the PAP. Maps 19 and 19B show the approved post - <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance September 2016 <br />Partial Phase I Bond Release SL -09 Page 4 <br />