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Garfield County, Colorado in portions of Township 6 South, Range 90 West (6th Principal <br />Meridian), Sections 6. The permit area can be found on the USGS Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series <br />Maps of New Castle and Storm King Mountain. The permit area and surface ownership can be <br />found on Map 1, and the coal ownership can be found on Map 2 of the Permit Application <br />Package (PAP). <br />Background <br />Coal Ridge was developed as a room and pillar operation utilizing hydraulic mining techniques <br />which use high pressured jets of water for cutting and breaking coal for extraction. Entries <br />within the coal seam were designed to move upslope so that gravity would have caused the slurry <br />of coal and water to flow from the mining section to the portal. Coal was to be transported by a <br />water flume to a preparation facility where it would be dewatered and stored for shipment. <br />Development operations commenced in October 1986. Two portals were driven by a roadheader <br />approximately 500 feet into the hillside. Coal Seams were not reached, hydraulic mining never <br />began, and coal was not produced. Development operations discontinued in March 1987. The <br />decision was made in 1993 to reclaim the site, and reclamation operations were initiated in 1994. <br />Reclamation for Coal Ridge involved sealing, backfilling, and regrading the portal areas to blend <br />in with the pre-existing topography. A concrete wall section was built across the portals which <br />were covered by 25 feet of backfill. Facilities were demolished and backfill and grading <br />activities were accomplished. Disturbed areas were topsoiled and seeded in compliance with <br />final reclamation specifications. The sediment control structures were the last features to be <br />reclaimed at Coal Ridge during the fall of 2015. The features reclaimed were Sediment Pond A, <br />the concrete splitter box and Culvert 5 at the inlet to the pond, and the Small Area Exemption <br />ditches, berms and sump. <br />Permit, Performance Bond, and Bond Release History <br />The Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine was issued on October 9, 1985 and renewed on December 10, 1989, <br />January 30, 1993, February 28, 1997, September 21, 2001, October 16, 2006, December 20, <br />2011, and January 10, 2017. The Division currently holds a reclamation bond in the amount of <br />$43,200.00. <br />Coal Ridge has applied for two previous bond releases. In October 19, 1995, a partial Phase I <br />Bond Release (SL -01) recognized accomplished reclamation work. A partial Phase I and 11 <br />Bond Release (SL -02) for the remaining areas of the site was approved on August 17, 2001. <br />SL -03 Phase III Bond Release and Termination of Jurisdiction Application <br />The Coal Ridge SL -03 application was received by the Division on March 23, 2020 and originally <br />deemed incomplete for the purpose of filing on May 7, 2020 for not including the vegetation reports <br />for the Division's review to ensure all applicable Rules and site standards have been satisfied. The <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance July 2020 <br />Phase III Bond Release SL -03 Page 2 <br />