2018-02-08_PERMIT FILE - C2010089A ‎(3)‎

• Permit No: C2010089A
• IBM Index Class Name: PERMIT FILE
• Doc Date: 2/8/2018
• Doc Name: Post Mining Land Use
• Section_Exhibit Name: Section 2.05.5
• Media Type: D
• Archive: Yes

POSTMINING LAND USE
Introduction
This section addresses the requirements of Rules 2.05.5 Postmining Land Uses and 4.16.3
Alternative Land Uses for areas affected by surface mining at New Horizon North (NHN) Mine.
Pre -Mining Land Use Summary
A detailed description and accompanying pre -mining land use conditions map is found in
Section 2.04.3 and on Map 2.04.3-1: New Horizon North Mine Land Use Map. In this discussion
of postmining land uses, only the current land use definitions found in Rule 1.04 are used. The
extent of these pre -disturbance land use categories is shown on Map 2.04.3-1. This analysis
shows there were a total of four pre -mining land use categories, further broken down into 13
subcategories corresponding to DRMS land use categories within the areas corresponding to the
NHN permit area. Each of these corresponding land uses, their corresponding area and the
percentage occupied by this specific land use are presented below. Grazingland is the single
largest current land use consisting of 170.39 acres and accounts for approximately 51.8% of the
NHN permit area. Pastureland is the second largest existing land use and consists of 138.23 acres
and accounts for approximately 42.0% of the NHN permit area. Residential land use, which
includes roads, accounts for 18.77 acres or 5.7% of the NHN permit area. Developed water
resources correspond to 1.49 acres or 0.5% of the NHN permit area.
Land use and baseline vegetation studies (Sections 2.04.3 and 2.04.10) conducted during Fall
2008 and Summer 2009, as well as results obtained from interviews with the current landowners,
other local operators, residents in the area and local governmental officials, show that the
predominate pre -mine land use can be described as agricultural based largely on the availability
of irrigation water and the current level of management. Vegetation types such as the Wetland
type are present as a result of irrigation in the area and are used and managed in a fashion that is
essentially identical to Irrigated Pasture/Cropland. Baseline studies also show that Wetland and
Irrigated Pasture/Cropland plant communities are very similar in vegetative composition and
often are used interchangeably depending on the landowners' needs. After several years of
production as Irrigated Pasture/Cropland and/or following the abandonment of irrigation, the
Irrigated Pasture/Cropland areas become dried out and become dominated by more invasive
dryland species and are slowly invaded by species such as Russian Knapweed (Centaurea
repens), Quackgrass (Agropyron repens), Western Wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) and
Buckhorn plantain (Plantago lanceolata). The most intensively managed areas found on the
NHN permit area correspond to the Irrigated Pasture/Cropland areas found on the Garvey
Property, which are managed at a much higher level of intensity due to regular applications of
fertilizer and water.
Section 2.05.5 Page 1 January 2018 (PR -02)