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<br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance July 2018 <br />Permit Renewal No. 7 P a g e | 24 <br />Ponds, Stock Tanks, and Ditches <br /> <br />All sediment control ponds and diversion ditches are to be removed during final reclamation of <br />the site. To support the proposed post mining land use, small water impoundments (stock tanks) <br />will be left to encourage an even distribution of grazing over the reclaimed site and to enhance the <br />areas for wildlife. These ponds will also replace the existing water rights associated with the stock <br />ponds that currently exist on the site. <br /> <br />Backfilling and Grading <br /> <br />All highwalls will be eliminated. Spoil will be graded to slopes no steeper than 3:1 (three <br />horizontal to one vertical). Reconstructed stream gradients will approximate those of the <br />pre-mining streams, and stream channels will be restructured to complement regional stream <br />patterns. Contour furrows will be constructed to reduce erosion. Overall, Colowyo's reclamation <br />plan will serve to achieve contemporaneous reclamation and approximate original contour. <br />However, a variance to Rule 4.14.1(1)(c) was granted during the initial permitting process to <br />backfill as contemporaneously as practical in lieu of the 180-day or four-spoil-ridges requirement. <br />Additionally, with the approval of PR-02, the Division has granted a variance to Rule 4.14.1(1)(c) <br />for the South Taylor Pit. <br /> <br />Five valley fills have been permitted for the disposal of excess spoil. There are three valley fills <br />that are already constructed. Streeter Fill is at the north edge of the East Pit. West Pit Fill is <br />adjacent to the Taylor Draw northwest of the West Pit. Section 16 Fill is in a sub-drainage along <br />the West Fork of Good Spring Creek. Both the Streeter Fill and the Section 16 Fill have undergone <br />a Phase III Bond Release and the requirement for quarterly inspections of the fills has been <br />terminated. <br /> <br />Two additional valley fills were approved with PR-02, one of the fills has been completed and the <br />other is in the process of construction. These fills were designed for disposal of the initial box-cut <br />spoil from the South Taylor Pit. The West Taylor Fill is being constructed in the West Fork of <br />upper Taylor Creek and the East Taylor Fill was constructed in the East Fork of upper Taylor <br />Creek. <br /> <br />Topsoil <br /> <br />Topsoil performance standards are found in Section 4.06 of the PAP (Volume 1 for the East Pit, <br />West Pit, Section 16 Pit, Facilities Area and Gossard Loadout; Volume 12 for South Taylor Pit; <br />Volume 15 for Collom Pit). Additional information on the soil types can be found on Maps 5, 5A, <br />5B, 5C and 6 of the PAP. Eighteen inches of topsoil was replaced on all graded sites through <br />2005. One exception is the Section 11 Pit, where 12 inches of topsoil was placed. With the <br />approval of TR-62, the topsoil replacement depth for all post 2005 remaining reclamation in the <br />East Pit, West Pit, Facilities area and Gossard Loadout was reduced to an average of eight inches. <br /> <br />A variable topsoil replacement depth was approved with TR-82 (September 2009) and