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GCC Energy, LLC <br />3482.1 (a) (3) (vii) Measures to Comply with 815.15 and 3484.1(a) <br />GCC will comply with the standards of the rules of 30 CFR 815.15 and with all applicable requirements <br />of the surface management agency. <br />3484.1 (a) (2) The shallow zones targeted for coal exploration are not considered for potential of <br />prospectively valuable for oil, gas, or geothermal resources and as such are not anticipated to <br />require blowout protection. However, GCC will, if required by the authorized officer, set a <br />cement casing in the hole and install suitable blowout prevention equipment when drilling. <br />3484.1(a) (3) All exploration drill holes will be capped with at least 5 feet of cement (if <br />required) and plugged with a permanent plugging material that is unaffected by water and <br />hydrocarbon gases and will prevent the migration of gases and water in the drill hole under <br />normal hole pressures. GCC will use cement or other suitable plugging material approved by the <br />authorized officer, and plug the hole through the thickness of the coal bed(s) or deposit(s) and <br />aquifers, or to the bottom of the drill hole. A lesser cap or plug may be approved by the <br />authorized officer. Exploration activities shall be managed to prevent water pollution and mixing <br />of ground and surface waters and ensure the safety of people, livestock, and wildlife. <br />3484.1(a) (4) GCC will retain for 1 year, all drill and geophysical logs and shall make such logs <br />available for inspection or analysis by the authorized officer, if requested. GCC will retain <br />representative samples of the cores for 1 year. Typically, all data collected including seam depth, <br />thickness, quality analysis, geophysical logs, structure contacts, geotechnical drill core logs, <br />strength test results, etc. will be copied and transferred to the appropriate personnel at the BLM <br />offices for review and confidential storage, pursuant to 43 CFR 3485.1. GCC anticipates that all <br />coal material from the coal bed cores will be crushed and sent to a certified commercial <br />laboratory for analysis. GCC will request that the commercial laboratory retain material not used <br />for testing and analysis for a period of not less than 1 year. GCC cannot guarantee that any <br />material will remain after testing and analysis, or that such material that might remain will be <br />representative in a statistical sense of the original drill hole. <br />3484.1(a) (5) GCC does not have plans to utilize any of the exploration drill holes as <br />surveillance wells for the purpose of monitoring the effects of subsequent operations. In the event <br />GCC decides to utilize a drill hole as a surveillance well, GCC will notify the BLM of which drill <br />hole location(s) will be used as surveillance well(s) prior to drilling. GCC also understands that <br />the BLM may require completion of some exploratory drill holes as hydrologic observation sites. <br />All surveillance wells are limited to surface access agreement rights. <br />3482.1(a) (3) (viii) Included Maps <br />GCC has included a Project Area Map in Appendix A to address all the following requirements: the <br />maps collectively show, at a scale of 1:24,000 or larger, the areas affected by the proposed exploration <br />and reclamation. The maps show existing roads, occupied dwellings, and pipelines; proposed location of <br />trenches, roads, and other access routes and structures to be constructed; applicable Federal lease and <br />license boundaries; the location of land excavations to be conducted; coal exploratory holes to be drilled <br />-------- ----- - - - - -- - -- <br />Federal Cost Exploration Plan <br />May 2014 <br />10 <br />