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bond release application were received by the Division. <br />A bond release inspection was scheduled and conducted on July 26, 2017. 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; Tony Tennyson of Tri-State; Angela Aalbers and Kurtis Blunt of <br />Colowyo; and Phillip Courtney of the Colorado State Land Board. No representatives from <br />Bureau of Land Management (BLM), local agencies, or adjacent land owners attended the <br />inspection. A summary of the bond release inspection are presented in Section IV, below. Detailed <br />observations of the inspection are documented in the inspection report that was conducted on July <br />26, 2017. See Figure 1 and 2 of this document for the location of the SL -12 partial Phase II and III <br />Bond Release area. <br />III. CRITERIA FOR BOND RELEASE <br />Phase II Bond Release <br />The Division evaluated Colowyo's request for partial Phase II Bond Release on 47.5 of the total <br />182.5 acres in the SL -12 application, as shown on Figure 1 and Figure 2 of this document. The <br />process of releasing the reclamation bond for a coal mine site in Colorado is explained in Rule 3.03 <br />and further described in the Division's 1995 Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mining Bond <br />Release Issues. The bond release process involves three phases. At Phase II, Rule 3.03.1(2) (b) <br />states,' Up to eighty-five percent of the applicable bond amount shall be released upon the <br />establishment of vegetation which supports the approved postmining land use and which meets the <br />approved success stand for cover, pursuant to 4.15.8, meets applicable productivity standards for <br />prime farmlands or alluvial valley floors pursuant to 3.03.1(3)(b), or croplands pursuant to 4.15.9. <br />With the exception of prime farmlands, evaluation of vegetation establishment pursuant to this <br />paragraph is based on statistically valid data collected during a single year of the liability period." <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. Required topsoil replacement depth of a minimum of 18 inches (per the Colowyo <br />PAP); <br />2. Required 90% vegetation cover; and <br />3. Vegetative productivity in relation to post mining land use. <br />Colowyo provided topsoil replacement and vegetation monitoring reports for the Phase II Bond <br />Release areas in the SL -12 application which was verified by the Division as shown on Table 4 <br />and Figure 3 of this document. For locations of the reclamation parcels associated with the SL -12 <br />application, please refer to Figure 1 of this document. <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance December 2017 <br />Partial Phase II and III Bond Release SL -12 Page 4 <br />