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Public Notice
<br /> Mountain Coal Company, LLC (MCC), 5174 Highway 133, Somerset, CO 81434, (970)
<br /> 929-5015, has filed a Phase III Final Bond Release Request to MCC's Mining and
<br /> Reclamation Permit No. C-1980-007 with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board
<br /> (Board), under the provisions of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act of
<br /> 1979. The permit was originally issued by the Board in July 1981,and subsequently renewed
<br /> every five years with the last renewal issued September 2020. The State of Colorado holds
<br /> a surety reclamation bond in the amount of $15,000,000.00 that exceeds the current
<br /> reclamation liability of$11,756,466.23.
<br /> MCC's approved permit area is located in Gunnison and Delta Counties east of the town of Somerset
<br /> and south of the North Fork of the Gunnison River. MCC's current permit area is included within areas
<br /> found on the Somerset and Minnesota Pass USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle maps and contains lands in
<br /> Sections 9-11, 13-36 in T13S, R90W of the 6t' PM, Sections 23-26, T13S, R91W of the 6t' Prime
<br /> Meridian, and Sections 1-5, 8-12, 14-16, and 21-23, T14S, R91W of the 6t' Prime Meridian of
<br /> Gunnison and Delta Counties, Colorado. The current permit area contains approximately 19,854.9
<br /> acres.
<br /> MCC is requesting a Phase III final liability and bond release for reclaimed methane
<br /> vent boreholes (MVBs) and associated roads and surface disturbance. These reclaimed
<br /> areas comprise approximately 9.25 acres of private and public land, within portions of
<br /> the mine permit area that include Sections 14, 22, 23, 26, and 27, T13S, R90W of the 6th
<br /> Prime Meridian, Gunnison County, Colorado. The MVB's and associated disturbances
<br /> were necessary for prior coal mining operations. MCC is requesting a release of
<br /> $29,416.08 which represents the remainder of the reclamation bond applicable to sites
<br /> proposed for Phase III bond release, as allowed by Colorado Statute and Rule 3.03. This
<br /> amount will be verified by the State of Colorado. MCC has successfully completed all
<br /> reclamation obligations and met the final revegetation success criteria for the
<br /> reclaimed areas that are the subject of this bond release request.
<br /> Reclamation of the sites for which Phase III bond release is being requested was
<br /> completed between 2004 and 2008. Reclamation included proper plugging and sealing
<br /> of MVBs, followed by backfilling and regrading of surface disturbance,with subsequent
<br /> replacement of topsoil and implementation of sediment control measures. The areas
<br /> proposed for bond release have been revegetated using the methods and plant species
<br /> consistent with the requirements of the landowners and the approved mining and
<br /> reclamation permit.
<br /> A copy of the bond release application is available for review at the
<br /> Colorado Division of Reclamation,Mining and Safety (CDRMS), 1313 Sherman Street,
<br /> Room 215 Denver, CO 80203, (303) 866-3567, and the Gunnison County Planning
<br /> Office, 221 N. Wisconsin St., Gunnison, CO 81230. All information pertinent to the
<br /> bond release request is presented within this application. Comments or objections
<br /> concerning the application should be directed to the CDRMS at the above address not
<br /> later than 30 days after the last date of publication of this notice (published four times
<br /> consecutively) in order to be considered.
<br /> Published in the Delta County Independent November 16, 23, 30, and December 7,
<br /> 2022.
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