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Backfilling and Grading <br /> All highwalls will be eliminated. Spoil will be graded to slopes no steeper than 3:1 (three <br /> horizontal to one vertical). Reconstructed stream gradients will approximate those of the <br /> premining streams, and stream channels will be restructured to complement regional stream <br /> patterns. Contour furrows will be constructed to reduce erosion. Overall, Colowyo's <br /> reclamation plan will serve to achieve contemporaneous reclamation and approximate original <br /> contour. However, a variance to Rule 4.14.1(1)(c) was granted during the initial permitting <br /> process to backfill as contemporaneously as practical in lieu of the 180-day or four-spoil-ridges <br /> requirement. Additionally, with the approval of PR-02, the Division has granted a variance to <br /> Rule 4.14.1(1)(c)for the South Taylor Pit. <br /> Six valley fills have been permitted for the disposal of excess spoil. There are three valley fills <br /> that are already constructed. Streeter Fill is at the north edge of the East Pit. West Pit Fill is <br /> adjacent to the Taylor Draw northwest of the West Pit. Section 16 Fill is in a sub-drainage along <br /> the West Fork of Good Spring Creek. Both the Streeter Fill and the Section 16 Fill have <br /> undergone a Phase III Bond Release and the requirement for quarterly inspections of the fills has <br /> been terminated. <br /> Two additional valley fills were approved with PR-02, one of the fills has been completed and <br /> the other is in the process of construction. These fills were designed for disposal of the initial <br /> box-cut spoil from the South Taylor Pit. The West Taylor Fill is being constructed in the West <br /> Fork of upper Taylor Creek and the East Taylor Fill was constructed in the East Fork of upper <br /> Taylor Creek. The final valley fill is associated with the Collom Pit and is currently in the <br /> process of construction within the Little Collom Gulch drainage. <br /> Topsoil <br /> Topsoil performance standards are found in Section 4.06 of the PAP (Volume 1 for the East Pit, <br /> West Pit, Section 16 Pit, Facilities Area and Gossard Loadout; Volume 12 for South Taylor Pit; <br /> Volume 15 for Collom Pit). Additional information on the soil types can be found on Maps 5, <br /> 5A, 513, 5C and 6 of the PAP. Eighteen inches of topsoil was replaced on all graded sites <br /> through 2005. One exception is the Section 11 Pit, where 12 inches of topsoil was placed. With <br /> the approval of TR-62, the topsoil replacement depth for all post 2005 remaining reclamation in <br /> the East Pit, West Pit, Facilities area and Gossard Loadout was reduced to an average of eight <br /> inches. <br /> A variable topsoil replacement depth was approved with TR-82 (September 2009) and <br /> implementation began in 2010. As described in the PAP, the general plan is to place topsoil in <br /> thinner layers (average of four inches) near ridge tops to encourage the development of a <br /> Sagebrush Steppe, and to place deeper topsoil on steeper slopes. Steeper slopes are generally <br /> considered greater than 10 percent and on these slopes a grassland environment is encouraged. <br /> The topsoil in locations outside of the South Taylor area average six inches of depth near the top <br /> Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance January 5,2023 <br /> Permit Renewal No. 8 Page 127 <br />