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Elk Creek Mine (C-1981-022) <br />MT- 7 <br />by the end of 2015, and major structure demolition and removal was completed by the end of 2016. <br />Given that mining operations on the site have been ongoing since 1902, much of the disturbance <br />associated with the mine was caused prior to the effective date of the Surface Mining Control and <br />Reclamation Act of 1977 and the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act. Baseline <br />environmental factors were not measured and no topsoil was salvaged prior to the disturbance. <br />Disturbances made following the effective date of the Act have been permitted and conducted in <br />compliance with the Act and Regulations; (these include the Hubbard Creek Ventilation Fan No. 2 <br />facility, the methane degas wells, the Sanborn Creek Tract, the Elk Creek facilities, the West Valley and <br />II West Coal Refuse facilities, and the Bear Creek fan site facility). All other areas of disturbance at the <br />mine occurred prior to the effective date of the Act. <br />Surface topography will generally be returned to the approximate original contour (AOC), with several <br />exceptions: <br />In the Elk Creek drainage, at the northern end of the facilities area, a methane thermal oxidation and <br />electricity generating facility operated by Vessels Coal Gas, Inc. will remain as a permanent facility <br />on a level pad. <br />The original Bear Creek and Hubbard Creek ventilation facilities will be backfilled only to the extent <br />practical, given the fact that these small facilities areas are preexisting and cut into steep slopes. <br />Furthermore, requests are on file from the federal agencies who manage the surface in two of those <br />areas (the US Forest Service for the Upper Hubbard Creek area and from the US Bureau of Land <br />Management for the Lower Hubbard Creek site) to maintain them in their present condition as gravel <br />pad parking lots for users of the access; the Bear Creek fan site is to be used as a methane thermal <br />oxidation facility, operated by North Fork Energy LLC. <br />Permanent waste piles will be blended into the surrounding topography. The main mine access road <br />will be left in place following mining in order to provide access to the Somerset Cemetery and Elk <br />Creek. The power line access road and power line corridor will be reclaimed. <br />Following grading, all pre -law disturbed areas in the Elk Creek yard will have surface material sampled <br />to determine if it will be suitable for direct revegetation. The Sanborn Creek Tract disturbance will be <br />sampled in a similar fashion. If it is found that the surface material is not suitable, the area will be top - <br />dressed with suitable materials obtained from excavation for reestablishment of the Elk Creek drainage <br />from a borrow area near the backfilled Elk Creek access portals or from topsoil stockpiles. Suitable <br />plant growth medium will be spread to a thickness of six inches. The area will then be seeded with the <br />approved seed mixture and mulched at the rate of 4,000 pounds of straw per acre. Straw will be crimped <br />along the contour. <br />Somerset Mining Company, now OMLLC, conducted a detailed soil survey and vegetation survey of <br />the areas to be affected by development of the Sanborn Creek portals, haul road and conveyor facilities. <br />These surveys indicated that approximately 8,850 cubic yards of soil could be salvaged from these areas <br />and that vegetation in the portal area and along the conveyor/haul road corridor was substantially the <br />same as the surrounding vegetative types. Soil salvaged from these areas will be used for reclamation <br />Page 10 of 14 <br />