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Valley and II West Coal Refuse facilities, and the Bear Creek fan site facility). All other areas of <br /> disturbance at the mine occurred prior to the effective date of the Act. <br /> Surface topography will generally be returned to the approximate original contour(AOC), with <br /> several exceptions: <br /> In the Elk Creek drainage, at the northern end of the facilities area, a methane thermal oxidation <br /> and electricity generating facility operated by Vessels Coal Gas, Inc. will remain as a permanent <br /> facility on a level pad. <br /> The original Bear Creek and Hubbard Creek ventilation facilities will be backfilled only to the <br /> extent practical, given the fact that these small facilities areas are pre-existing and cut into steep <br /> slopes. Furthermore, requests are on file from the federal agencies who manage the surface in <br /> two of those areas (the US Forest Service for the Upper Hubbard Creek area and from the US <br /> Bureau of Land Management for the Lower Hubbard Creek site)to maintain them in their <br /> present condition as gravel pad parking lots for users of the access; the Bear Creek fan site is to <br /> be used as a methane thermal oxidation facility, operated by North Fork Energy, LLC. <br /> Permanent waste piles will be blended into the surrounding topography. The main mine access <br /> road will be left in place following mining in order to provide access to the Somerset Cemetery <br /> and Elk 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 Mine yard will have surface <br /> material sampled to determine if it will be suitable for direct revegetation. The Sanborn Creek <br /> Tract disturbance will be sampled in a similar fashion. If it is found that the surface material is <br /> not suitable, the area will be top-dressed with suitable materials obtained from excavation for <br /> reestablishment of the Elk Creek drainage from a borrow area near the backfilled Elk Creek <br /> access portals or from topsoil stockpiles. Suitable plant growth medium will be spread to a <br /> thickness of six inches. The area will then be seeded with the approved seed mixture and <br /> mulched at the rate of 4,000 pounds of straw per acre. Straw will be crimped along the contour. <br /> Somerset Mining Company, now OMLLC, conducted a detailed soil survey and vegetation <br /> survey of the areas to be affected by development of the Sanborn Creek portals, haul road and <br /> conveyor facilities. These surveys indicated that approximately 8,850 cubic yards of soil could <br /> be salvaged from these areas and that vegetation in the portal area and along the conveyor/haul <br /> road corridor was substantially the same as the surrounding vegetative types. Soil salvaged from <br /> these areas will be used for reclamation activities. However, soil on the Sanborn Creek <br /> disturbance will not necessarily be replaced to the same original thickness, as discussed in the <br /> Topsoil section below. <br /> U.S. Steel conducted a vegetation survey of unaffected land adjacent to the surface disturbed <br /> areas for the purpose of developing a reclamation plan for the surface disturbed area. A native <br /> seed mix has been approved which is representative of the adjacent unaffected lands. The <br /> surface will be returned to rangeland and wildlife habitat which is the present status of adjacent <br /> lands and the pre mining land use of the disturbed area. <br /> 10 <br />