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vegetation reports were then received by the Division and the SL -03 application was deemed <br />Complete on May 21, 2020. Coal Ridge published notice of the bond release application in the <br />Glenwood Springs Post Independent once weekly for four consecutive weeks, beginning January 9, <br />2020 and ending on January 30, 2020. Coal Ridge notified land owners within and adjacent to the <br />mine permit area, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) <br />and other interested parties of the application for bond release, as required by Rule 3.032(1). No <br />comments, written objections or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release <br />application were received by the Division. <br />A bond release inspection was scheduled and conducted on June 3, 2020. The site inspection was <br />conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Inspection attendees included: Zach Trujillo and <br />Elliott Russell of the Division and Mr. Andy Bruno of APB Holdings, LLC, representing the <br />landowner. No representatives from the BLM, CPW, local agencies, or adjacent land owners <br />attended the inspection. A summary of the bond release inspection are presented in Section IV, <br />below. Detailed observations of the inspection are documented in the inspection report that was <br />conducted on June 3, 2020. See Figure 1 of this document for the location of the SL -03 Phase III <br />Bond Release area. <br />III. CRITERIA FOR BOND RELEASE <br />Phase III Bond Release <br />The Division evaluated Coal Ridges' request for Phase III Bond Release on 45.5 acres in the SL -03 <br />application, as shown on Figure 1 of this document. The process of releasing the reclamation bond <br />for a coal mine site in Colorado is explained in Rule 3.03 and further described in the Division's <br />1995 Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mining Bond Release Issues. The bond release process <br />involves three phases. At Phase III, Rule 3.03.1(2) (c) states, "The remaining portion of the bond <br />amount shall be released when the permittee has successfully completed all surface coal mining <br />reclamation operations in accordance with the approved reclamation plan, and the final inspection <br />and procedures of 3.03.2 have been satisfied. This shall not be before the expiration of the period <br />specified for revegetation responsibility in 3.02.3." <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 />1. The reclaimed logical management unit (LMU) must meet the vegetative cover standard for <br />two out of the four years of sample data (Rule 4.15.8(3)(a)); <br />2. The reclaimed LMU must meet the herbaceous productivity standard for two out of the four <br />years of sample data. (Rule 4.15.8(4)); <br />3. The reclaimed LMU must meet the approved species diversity standard for two out of the <br />four years of sample data. (Rule 4.15.8(5)); <br />4. On areas reclaimed prior to 2008, woody stem density shall be 150 stems per acre on 3% of <br />the reclaimed area (Permit section 4.15.8 and Rule 4.15.8(7)); <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance July 2020 <br />Phase III Bond Release SL -03 Page 3 <br />