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• The entrance road to the ROM area has not been reclaimed, and the Permit Application <br /> Package (PAP) for the mine does not indicate that this road has been designated as permanent. <br /> The Morgans (landowners) said during the inspection that they want the entrance road to <br /> remain. Therefore, the road should be removed from the application by a request from BRL. <br /> • Several thistle plants were seen around the ROM area. Basil Bear committed to having his <br /> staff spray these weeds in the near future (no later than the end of May 2021). <br /> On May 11, 2021, the Division received a letter from Stover&Associates (consultant to BRL) <br /> requesting that the road be "carved out" of the SL-07 application. This area consists of 0.34 acre. <br /> Through later email correspondence,Basil Bear indicated that the spraying of thistle had been done. <br /> II. CRITERIA AND SCHEDULE FOR BOND RELEASE <br /> PHASE I—not applicable for SL-07. <br /> PHASE II <br /> Within SL-07, Phase H release is only applicable to the pond area (which is 0.51 acres). Rule 3.03.1(5) <br /> indicates that reclaimed ponds (and other temporary drainage facilities) are not subject to the criteria of <br /> Rule 3.03.1(2). The rule that is applicable to reclaimed ponds, Rule 3.03.1(5), states that, "Vegetative <br /> cover must be adequate to control erosion and similar to the reclaimed area or surrounding undisturbed <br /> area." <br /> Regarding the depth of topsoil, the Division used the Reclamation Cost Estimate (RCE) for the site to <br /> determine a required depth. The PAP indicates that no topsoil was available for salvage at the ROM area, <br /> but plant growth media was used during reclamation of the area. The PAP does not define the thickness <br /> of the plant growth media required for the ROM area, so a calculation was performed by the Division to <br /> estimate the required thickness. A task in the RCE includes the distribution of 5,200 cubic yards of topsoil <br /> over the ROM area. This volume equates to a three-inch to four-inch thickness of plant growth media. <br /> PHASE III <br /> Rule 3.03.1(2)(c) states that the final portion of performance bond, "shall be released when the permittee <br /> has successfully completed all surface coal mining reclamation operations in accordance with this <br /> approved reclamation plan, and the final inspection procedures of 3.03.2 have been satisfied. This shall <br /> not be before the expiration of the period specified for revegetation responsibility in 3.02.3." Rule <br /> 3.03.1(4)states, "No bond shall be fully released until all reclamation requirements of these Rules and the <br /> Act are fully met...". The same rule goes on to state, "No acreage shall be released from the permit area <br /> until all surface coal mining and reclamation operations on that acreage have been completed in <br /> Permit Number G1981-038 Page 5 of 14 <br />