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II. OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS <br /> In conjunction with Midterm Review No. 8 (MT8) and Permit Revision No. 5 (PR5) and in accordance with <br /> Rule 3.02.2(4), the Division has reviewed the adequacy of the reclamation bonding instruments and the <br /> adequacy of the reclamation cost estimate. There is currently two corporate sureties in place for the New Elk <br /> Mine, one in the amount of$42,842.00 and the other in the amount of$4,605,014.08, for a total bond in the <br /> amount of $4,647,856.08. Prior to MT8, a compiled reclamation cost estimate was developed by the <br /> Division as a part of the Permit Renewal No. 7 (RN7) process that was approved on November 14, 2019. <br /> The Division's reclamation unit costs for the tasks identified in the RN7 cost estimate had not been updated <br /> until the MT8 review. Also, a number of revisions have been approved since the issuance of RN7 that <br /> resulted in an increase in reclamation liability. For the MT8 review, the Division consolidated the <br /> reclamation tasks from the RN7 estimate with the tasks associated with the various revisions approved after <br /> the issuance of RN7 and thus developed a single consolidated reclamation cost estimate. This reclamation <br /> cost estimate was sent to NECC with the MT8 review document on August 29, 2021. On June 24, 2021, <br /> NECC submitted PR5. During the review of PR5,the Division and NECC reviewed the reclamation liability <br /> at the site and an updated reclamation cost estimate was produced by the Division based on the MT8 estimate <br /> and questions raised by NECC. The Division provided a copy of the reclamation cost estimate to NECC on <br /> November 2, 2021. NECC subsequently reviewed and accepted the Division's estimate in a letter dated May <br /> 5, 2022. However, DRMS issued a proposed decision to deny PR5, and therefore the required surety needs <br /> to be updated through the bond adjustment/surety increase process outlined in Rule 3.02.2(4). <br /> The Division proposes to increase the required surety at the site to $5,218,954.00. The current required <br /> surety set for the site is $4,605,014.08. The net increase in required surety is $613,939.92. The Division <br /> currently holds a surety in the amount of$4,647,856.08. Therefore, NECC will be required to submit an <br /> additional$571,097.92 in bond. <br /> The Division and NECC met for an informal conference on August 10, 2022. NECC and the Division <br /> discussed the reasons for the reclamation cost increase. <br /> III. PROPOSED DECISION <br /> The Division proposes to approve SI4 and increase the reclamation liability amount to $5,218,954.00. Any <br /> person with a valid legal interest which might be adversely affected by this proposed decision may request a <br /> formal public hearing before the Mined Land Reclamation Board in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(4). Public <br /> notice of this proposed decision will be published twice in The Chronicle News as soon as possible. <br /> Requests for public hearing must be submitted to the Division in writing within thirty days of the first <br /> publication in The Chronicle -News. The request must state with reasonable specificity the reasons for the <br /> request and the objections to the proposed decision. If no hearing is requested within that thirty days, the <br /> Division's decision will become final. <br />