2018-07-02_PERMIT FILE - C2010089A (22)

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Postmining Land Use - General The primary reason landowners requested that NHN make these changes from Grazingland-Big Sagebrush and Irrigated Pasture/Cropland to Dryland Pasture has to do with the successful reclamation efforts on the Rice Tract. According to vegetation data presented Section 2.04.10, the existing Sagebrush plant communities are producing on average 123.3 pounds of air dry forage per acre. The average forage production on the existing Dryland Pasture on this site averages 348.6 pounds of air dry forage per acre. While on the reclaimed portions of the Rice Tract, the current average forage production is 845.0 pounds of air dry forage per acre. When placed into the context of a landowner, the forage production from the reclaimed sites is 6.85 times more than they are currently getting from their Sagebrush lands and 2.83 times more than they are currently averaging from their Dryland Pasture. Since DRMS regulations require that lands disturbed by mining be reclaimed to their highest potential uses consistent with the surface owners' plans, NHN will comply with the landowners' wishes. Due to landowners' wishes on the ERMR-Meehan and Garvey Properties, the existing Sagebrush vegetation will be reclaimed to an improved Dryland Pasture. Dryland Pasture was chosen as the primary postmining vegetation type due to the landowners' wishes to improve the agricultural potential of their lands and in order to encourage "prompt establishment of vegetative cover and recovery of productivity levels compatible with the approved postmining land use" (Rule 4.15.1(2)). Irrigated Pasture/Cropland will be established on areas identified as corresponding to these vegetation and land use types described in Sections 2.04.3 and 2.04.10 baseline land use and vegetation studies. The various plans for backfilling, grading and topsoil redistribution (Sections 2.05.4(2)(c) and (d)) will provide the basis for the potential productivity of the reclaimed lands. Upon meeting successful revegetation requirements for the Irrigated Pasture/Cropland and release of NHN's regulatory liability, these lands may be converted by the landowners to other vegetation or land use types based upon the desires of the surface owners. Successful revegetation of Dryland Pasture and Irrigated Pasture/Cropland will ensure that the reclaimed lands are capable of supporting the highest possible uses they were capable of supporting before mining. Letters from the original landowners within the NHN Mine permit area (Thomas Meehan and Stan Garvey) approving the postmining land uses are provided in Appendix 2.05.5- 1. However, ERMR has since purchase the Meehan property from Thomas Meehan. Therefore, the Meehan landowner letter is provided in Appendix 2.05.5-1 for historic reference. On the ERMR-Meehan property, the previous landowner Thomas Meehan requested that the Irrigated Pasture/Cropland be reclaimed to Dryland Pasture and the current landowner ERMR concurs with this request. As documented in Section 2.04.3, there have been declines in the amount of Irrigated Pasture/Cropland on this property as the land has been sold and either through the sale of the water rights or the absence of an owner living on the property. On the Garvey property, due to abundant water rights and the fact they have previously lived on the land, there will be no conversion of Irrigated Pasture/Cropland to dryland pasture. NHN Section 2.05.5 Page 3 March 2018 (TR -16)