2008-05-01_REVISION - M1973007SG (5)

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MINING PLAN likely that the operation will fill the sediment area long before it runs out of sand. In that case, sedim dene position i5 ll be e ocated o the east side of Academy in the southwestern portions of the South Area. The location is shown on the mining plan map (see Exhibit C-2). Obviously, there is —_ more than enough room east of Academy to establish a new sediment basin when needed and the logical location is in the lowest area which is the southwestern corner of the South Area. ��r� The texture of the sediment being deposited here is very fine and it retains a considerable 4t')Q amount of water that slowly percolates into the ground water. Whether this land would ever be able .v ` to be built upon is not known. Land that has dried is certainly stable for some uses and may v eventually dry enough to support a building. But the most likely use for this land will be as a forested, greens pace are . It could eventually become a small park that would be a pleasant addition to this largely industrialized portion of Colorado Springs. Based on the vegetation currently living on the older portions of the sediment basin, thick tree growth is possible. However,whether there will still be enough moisture left in the sediment after the water is "turned off' is not known or predictable until the sediment basin is no longer in use. If it is topped with some soil with a somewhat more coarse texture, then rainfall, snowmelt, and runoff may be sufficient to support a rich growth of native trees, grasses and forbs. More about this will be discussed in the Reclamation Plan- Exhibit E. EAST OF ACADEMY BOULEVARD Clearly, most of the future activity at this site, other than for processing which is no longer a part of the permit, will occur east of Academy. As discussed earlier, this area is divided into two portions, the North Area and the South Area. Eventually, these will be merged. For now though there is a considerable distinction between these two areas. It is important to understand that thgapJw-o areas qoo_not phases of the operation. Both will be operated, to a different extent, at the same time with activity in both areas at once or activity moving back and forth between the two areas. That said, because there is far less to be mined in the South Area than the North Area, activity in the South Area will likely be completed well before the North Area is finished and the South Area should be mostly reclaimed by the time the North Area is approaching completion with mining. This arrangement also provides for a much less piecemeal approach to reclamation as well as the implementation of more contemporaneous reclamation as mining is completed. In the past, little reclamation could be done east of Academy simply because the sequence of mining required by the nature of the deposit kept completed areas in a disturbed state because of continued mining in adjacent areas. In the South Area in particular, that pattern will be less evident, but until the north and south parts can be merged there will remain a considerable amount of land kept in a disturbed condition. For the most part, this is due to the effect of the Fountain Mutual Ditch continued Daniels Sand Pit Amendment (2008) Exhibit D Page 8 of 28