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State owned. Reclamation work for which bond release has been requested was conducted during <br />the calendar years 2016 and 2017. <br />IL PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />Colowyo applied for a partial Phase I Bond Release for 103.1 disturbed acres as shown on Map 1 <br />and Map 2 of the SL -13 application. This area is located in Moffat County, Colorado. The bond <br />release area is located in the Colowyo Mine's West Pit, East Pit, Old Administration Building, and <br />the Collom ancillary expansion areas in portions of Township 4 North, Range 93, and Township 4 <br />North, Range 94 West of the 6th Principal Meridian. The permit area can be found on the USGS <br />Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series Maps of Axial and Nine Mile Gap. The permit area and surface <br />ownership can be found on Map 1, and the coal ownership can be found on Map 2 of the Permit <br />Application Package (PAP). <br />Background <br />The East Pit and West Pit mining sites lie just west of the northward flowing Goodspring (also <br />referred to as Good Spring) Creek, which is paralleled by Colorado Highway 13. The area <br />includes gently sloping uplands and valleys that cut into the upland surface. These valleys are <br />generally narrow, v -shaped, and about 250 to 500 feet deep. Elevations range from <br />approximately 7,650 feet in the upper portion of East Pit reclamation to 6,950 feet near East <br />Taylor Pond. <br />Mining operations began in 1976 with the East Pit, a multi -seam coal operation that continued to <br />move in a southerly direction. Eight coal seams (Y, X, A, B, C, D, E, F) were mined from the <br />East Pit, ranging in thickness from two to fifteen feet. The East Pit is nearly 6,000 feet from east <br />to west (width), 1,000 feet in breadth (highwall to highwall), and 450 feet deep. Due to the <br />number of coal seams, immense size of the pit, and manpower and equipment employed, pit <br />progression was slow, with additional disturbances of approximately 40 to 50 acres per year. <br />Extraction of coal from the East Pit was terminated in 2006. Currently, the only ongoing <br />operation in the East Pit is reclamation of the final cut, including backfilling and grading of the <br />pit and highwall reduction. <br />The West Pit is located to the west of the East Pit. The method of operation utilized in, and the <br />coal seams extracted from, the West Pit were the same as those of the East Pit. The West Pit was <br />roughly the same overall size as the East Pit. Mining in the West Pit advanced from the north to <br />south, paralleling the movement of the adjacent East Pit. Mining operations in the West Pit were <br />completed in 2015. <br />Colowyo is continuing to perform reclamation activities in the East Pit and West Pit. <br />Reclamation in the East Pit and West Pit is expected to conclude in 2029. <br />Operations in the South Taylor Pit began after the approval of PR -02 in 2007. This pit is located <br />north and west of the northward flowing Good Spring Creek and southwest of the West Pit. It <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance August 30, 2018 <br />Partial Phase I Bond Release SL -13 Page 2 <br />