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<br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance October 2018 <br />Partial Phase II and III Bond Release SL-14 Page 4 <br />other interested parties of the application for bond release, as required by Rule 3.03.2(1). No <br />comments, written objections or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release <br />application were received by the Division. <br /> <br />A bond release inspection was scheduled and conducted on June 19 - 21, 2018. The site inspection <br />was conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Inspection attendees included: Zach Trujillo of <br />the Division; Tom Medlin of OSM; Tony Tennyson of Tri-State; Angela Aalbers and Kurtis Blunt <br />of Colowyo. No representatives from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), local agencies, <br />or adjacent land owners attended the inspection. A summary of the bond release inspection are <br />presented in Section IV, below. Detailed observations of the inspection are documented in the <br />inspection report that was conducted on June 19 - 21, 2018. See Figure 1 and 2 of this document for <br />the location of the SL-14 partial Phase II and III Bond Release area. <br /> <br />III. CRITERIA FOR BOND RELEASE <br /> <br />Phase II Bond Release <br /> <br />The Division evaluated Colowyo’s request for partial Phase II Bond Release on 822.4 acres in the <br />SL-14 application, as shown on Figure 1 of this document. The process of releasing the reclamation <br />bond for a coal mine site in Colorado is explained in Rule 3.03 and further described in the <br />Division’s 1995 Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mining Bond Release Issues. The bond release <br />process involves three phases. At Phase II, Rule 3.03.1(2) (b) states, "Up to eighty-five percent of <br />the applicable bond amount shall be released upon the establishment of vegetation which supports <br />the approved postmining land use and which meets the approved success stand for cover, pursuant <br />to 4.15.8, meets applicable productivity standards for prime farmlands or alluvial valley floors <br />pursuant to 3.03.1(3)(b), or croplands pursuant to 4.15.9. With the exception of prime farmlands, <br />evaluation of vegetation establishment pursuant to this paragraph is based on statistically valid data <br />collected during a single year of the liability period." In regard to Phase II bond release, Rule <br />3.03.1(3)(b) also states, “No more than (60) percent of the bond shall be released so long as the <br />lands to which the release would be applicable are contributing suspended solids to streamflow <br />or runoff outside the permit area in excess of premining levels as determined by baseline data or <br />in excess of levels determined on adjacent nonmined areas”. <br /> <br />Although not specifically addressed in Rule 3.03, the Division evaluates topsoil replacement in <br />conformance with Rule 4.06 and permit requirements as a component of Phase II bond release. <br />Evaluation and inspection of the reclaimed areas was based on the specific requirements of the <br />reclamation plan and the functional requirements of the post-mining land use. Criteria for bond <br />release included the following. <br /> <br />1. Required variable topsoil replacement depth at an average of 8 inches (per the <br />Colowyo PAP); and <br />2. Required 90% vegetation cover. <br />