2018-01-23_REVISION - C1981041 (21)

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5 C1981-041 RN7 findings SL10. Technical Revision No. 70 approved removal of all the lands west of the Colorado River from the permit area and reduced the permit area boundary. The Division approved Permit Revision No. 4, on February 3, 2009. With the approval of permit revision no. 4, the Unit Train Loadout (UTL) facility and a portion of the railroad spur and overland conveyor corridor, north of I 9/10 Road, were converted from “Fish and Wildlife Habitat” to “Industrial or Commercial” for the UTL area. The land use change allowed for long term post - mine use of the loadout area and various associated facilities for rail loading, unloading, and storage of construction materials. Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (Halliburton) purchased the UTL facility from SCC and continues to use the loadout as an industrial site. The entire UTL facility has since been Phase III bond released and removed from the permit area. At the South Mine, located south and east of I-70, the South Portal has been sealed, the coal processing plant and various other facilities have been demolished and removed. Earthwork, and revegetation at the South Portal facilities has been completed and the refuse disposal area has been fully reclaimed. Final reclamation plans for the South Portal facilities were modified by Permit Revision No. 3 (PR-3), approved in September 2007. PR-3 incorporated a variance from approximate original contour (AOC), and allowed for retention of certain buildings and facilities in order to accommodate a commercial post-mining land use. The mine portals, the former warehouse and shop facilities, the preparation plant/raw coal storage area, the lab/tr aining facilities, and the equipment and material storage area atop the refuse pile have been Phase III bond released. All remaining areas at the South Portals and vicinity, have had a Phase I bond release including the side slopes of the Roadside South Refuse Disposal Area, RSRDA Borrow Area, and upper diversion ditches. SL5 was approved September 9, 2009. SL5 approved Phase I, II and III bond release for the Overland Conveyor Area. SL6 was approved November 4, 2010 and approved Phase II and III bond release for 14.8 acres at the South Portals. History The DeBeque Canyon area within and adjacent to the current permit area has been historically disturbed by coal mining activities since the late 1800's, and the Colorado River alluvial valley floor area which has been altered and affected by these operations has been “grandfathered” into the permit area. The Cameo Power Plant, which was a customer for coal from the Roadside Portals when the mine was operating, was located just south of the North Portal facilities, on the west side of the river. The Cameo Power Plant closed at the end of 2010 and has been completely demolished and reclaimed. The Cameo Power Plant area is part of the planned shooting range. Underground mining operations using modern, mechanized methods began in 1974. Between 1974 and 1999, approximately 242 acres of surface lands were disturbed in conjunction with the operation. GEX Colorado, Inc. submitted the original permanent program permit application for the Roadside and Cameo Mines on February 17, 1981, pursuant to Section 34-33-109 of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act. On December 31, 1981, the Roadside and Cameo Mines were purchased by Powderhorn Coal Company (PCC). Following the review process for the initial permanent program permit application, the Division issued a permit with stipulations on January 3, 1983.