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the pit. Overburden is then stripped by draglines, scrapers,truck/loader or bulldozers. Finally, front- <br /> end loaders load coal into 90-ton haul trucks,which deliver the raw coal to the Craig Power Plant. <br /> Trapper removed 24. 6 billion cubic yards (BCY)of spoil material in the K-Pit and placed the <br /> material in a permanent fill that is known as Horse Gulch Fill. Additional spoil from the K-Pit is also <br /> placed north of the pit and elsewhere on the site to meet the requirements of the post-mine <br /> topography. The Horse Gulch fill is completed. The only portion of Trapper's operation located <br /> downslope from the Horse Gulch Fill is Trapper's Horse Gulch sediment control pond. <br /> Backfilling of Pits <br /> After removing coal from economically recoverable coal seams, associated pits are backfilled with <br /> spoil (overburden and interburden)and then graded by dragline and dozers. As a dragline removes <br /> overburden and interburden, spoil ridges are created by dumping the material from a recently open <br /> pit into a recently mined out pit. Dozers and graders then smooth the spoil ridges and blend the <br /> ridges into the existing topography. <br /> Timing of Backfilling and Grading <br /> The Operator committed to the regulatory requirements of contemporaneous reclamation: that there <br /> will never be more than four ungraded spoil rows(including the active one)at any one time. <br /> Topsoiling and Seeding <br /> After final grading of the spoil ridges,topsoil is placed on the spoil to a depth of 18 inches on <br /> cropland and 12 inches on rangeland. A variation of+/- 2 inches is allowed due to compaction and <br /> operational considerations. Areas are then seeded with one of three main seed mixes, depending on <br /> the elevation. Seed mixes contain various native grasses, forbs and shrubs,while the lowest <br /> elevation site seed mix contains only grasses and forbs. Shrub clumps of approximately 1.6 acres are <br /> also located throughout the reclaimed areas. Seeding occurs by both drill and broadcasting methods. <br /> Long-Term Ash Disposal Plan <br /> The applicant continues to backfill Ashmore pit with ash from the Craig Power Plant. Ash will also <br /> be disposed in Enfield/Derringer pit. The ash is approximately 60% fly ash, 20%bottom ash,and <br /> 20% scrubber sludge. A maximum of 5,250 tons per day of the waste will be disposed of at the <br /> Trapper Mine with an average of 1,222 tons per day expected. This is equivalent to an average <br /> annual volume of waste of about 231 acre-feet,after compaction. The applicant expects this waste <br /> burial process will continue for the life of the mine. Down-gradient ground water monitoring wells <br /> are in place to detect any potential degradation of the ground water due to leachate through the ash <br /> waste pile. <br /> Findings of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br /> for Trapper Mine <br /> Explanation of Findings <br /> Pursuant to Rule 2.07.6(2) of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board <br /> for Coal Mining, and the approved state program,the Division of Reclamation, Mining and <br /> 10 <br />