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of ST OF Ty United States Department of the Interior <br />�PP ..\UJ/r Fey <br />O 9 <br />g OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />s, sA Western Region Office <br />ARCH 3. �s 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />August 29, 2017 <br />Mike Boulay, Director <br />Office of Mined Land Reclamation <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203-2273 <br />RECEIVED <br />AUG 312011 <br />Division of Reclamation, <br />Mining & Safety <br />RE: Approval of SL -10 Phase III Bond Release, Roadside Portals Mine, Permit No. C-1981-041 <br />Dear Mr. Boulay, <br />This letter acknowledges the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), Denver <br />Field Branch (DFB) receipt and review of the above Phase III Bond Release Proposed Decision document <br />prepared by the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety (DRMS) dated Jul 26, 2016. The Proposed <br />Decision documents the applicant's compliance with the approved Colorado regulatory program at Rule <br />3.03.2. <br />DRMS's proposed decision approves 4.0 acres of Phase III bond release. This bond release applies to <br />portions of the Roadside Mine northeast of Palisade, Colorado. OSMRE participated in the bond release <br />inspection held on April 24, 2017. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also participated in the <br />inspection. By letter dated August 10, 2017, the BLM provided its concurrence with the SL -10 bond <br />release (attached). OSMRE interprets the BLM's concurrence to mean the Roadside Mine is in <br />compliance with all BLM coal lease stipulations. <br />OSMRE agrees with DRMS that Snowcap Coal Company, Inc. has met or exceeded the requirements for <br />Phase III bond release on the specified 4.0 acres of land as described in DRMS Proposed Decision <br />document. The Division currently holds a performance bond in the amount of $805,952.60 for the <br />Roadside Mine, with a liability of $79,791.40. DRMS proposes to release $14,089.16 of liability with this <br />bond release action ($4,733.13 less than the amount Snowcap Coal Company requested) revising the <br />liability down to $65,702.24. OSMRE agrees with the findings and decision document and hereby <br />provides 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 />Thank you and your staff for coordinating this Federal mine bond release action through the DFB. Please <br />direct any questions concerning this action to Dan MacKinnon, Natural Resources Specialist at <br />dmackinnon(a)OSMRE. (Y(Yov or (303) 293-5011. <br />Sincerely, <br />Howard E. Strand, Manager <br />Denver Field Branch <br />Cc: Tonya Hammond, Snowcap Coal Company Inc. <br />Kathryn Stevens, BLM Field Office Grand Junction, CO <br />