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United States Department of the Interior <br />0111CIF, OI' SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and F111brcemcnt <br />Western Region Office <br />1990 Broadway, Suilc 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />January 12, 2017 <br />Michael Boulay <br />Coal Program Supervisor <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203-2273 <br />OE SURFgCF <br />�9��NAND E�O�G <br />, S q*0 <br />I S 101 <br />pN <br />RE: Approval of SL -2 Partial Phase I Bond Release, Bowie No. 2 Mine, Pel'Init No. C- <br />1996-083, DRMS Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance, December 30, 2016 <br />Dear Mr. Boulay, <br />This letter acknowledges the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), <br />Denver Field Branch's (DFB) receipt and review of the subject Phase I Bond Release Proposed <br />Decision document prepared by the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety dated December <br />30, 2016. DFB agrees with the findings and decision document and hereby provides OSMRE <br />concurrence for the above bond release action in accordance with 30 CFR 740.15 (d) (3), and 30 <br />CFR 906.30, Article IX, Section 24, of the State -Federal Cooperative Agreement. <br />DRMS's Proposed Decision documents the applicant's compliance with the approved Colorado <br />regulatory program at Rule 3.03.2. <br />This Phase I bond release applies to 12.27 acres consisting of 29 boreholes and six associated <br />light -use roads. The ownership of the land for which bond release has been requested is federal <br />and private, and the coal ownership was federal and private. Reclamation for which bond release <br />has been requested was conducted during the period of 2003 through 2016. <br />OSMRE participated in the bond release inspection on November 1, 2016, The Bureau of Land <br />Management (BLM) also participated in this inspection. By letter dated January 9, 2017, the <br />BLM provided its concurrence with SL -2 (attached). OSMRE interprets the BLM's concurrence <br />to mean that Bowie Resources, LLC (BRL) is in compliance with all applicable BLM coal lease <br />stipulations. <br />Based on available documentation, OSMRE agrees with DRMS's determination that BRL has <br />met or exceeded the requirements for Phase I bond release on the 12.27 acres of land as <br />described above. The current reclamation liability at the Bowie No. 2 Mine, prior to SL -2, is <br />$10,320,098.15, while the Division currently holds a performance bond in the form of five <br />corporate sureties in the amount of $10,971,057.58. The Division now proposes to release <br />$218,873.77 in bond liability and has determined that the remaining $10,101,224.38 in bond <br />liability is sufficient to assure completion of the reclamation plan if the work had to be <br />