Laserfiche WebLink
0"*4,9C <br />-''a�'United States Department of the Interior <br />C�OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />H 306", <br />. Western Region Office <br />1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />November 19, 2018 <br />Mr. James Stark <br />Coal Program Supervisor <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Re: Partial Phase II and III Bond Release Application SL -14, Tri-State Generation and <br />Transmission Association, Inc., Colowyo Mine, C-1981-019 <br />Dear Mr. Stark, <br />This letter acknowledges the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), <br />Denver Field Branch's (DFB) receipt and review of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, <br />Mining and Safety's (DRMS) October 31, 2018 Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance <br />pertaining to Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.'s (Tri-State) SL -14 partial <br />Phase H and III bond release application. DRMS's Proposed Decision notes Tri -State's <br />compliance with the approved Colorado regulatory program at Rules 3.03.1(2)(b) and <br />3.03.1(2)(c) and recommends authorizing partial Phase II bond release on 822.4 acres and partial <br />Phase III bond release on 222.6 acres in the East Pit and West Pit at the Colowyo Mine. <br />DFB participated in the SL -14 field evaluation on June 20-21, 2018. Mineral ownership <br />associated with the subject parcels is federal; accordingly, the Bureau of Land Management <br />(BLM) notified DFB of its concurrence with DRMS's Proposed Decision by letter dated October <br />30, 2018. We interpret this to mean that Tri-State is in compliance with all applicable BLM <br />mineral lease stipulations. DRMS currently holds a performance bond in the amount of <br />$108,025,721.00 which covers the entire minesite. Under SL -14, DRMS proposes to release a <br />total of $971,554.00 from Phase H and III liability. OSMRE agrees with the Proposed Decision <br />and hereby provides concurrence in accordance with 30 CFR 740.15 (d)(3) and 30 CFR 906.30, <br />Article IX, Section 24 of the State -Federal Cooperative Agreement. <br />Thank you and your staff for coordinating this bond release action through the DFB. Please <br />direct any questions to Tom Medlin, Environmental Protection Specialist, at tmedlin@osmre.aov <br />or (303) 293-5083. <br />