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the Act are fully met...". The same rule goes on to state, "No acreage shall be released from the permit <br /> area until all surface coal mining and reclamation operations on that acreage have been completed in <br /> accordance with the approved reclamation plan." <br /> The areas requested for Phase III bond release were confined to reclamation of monitoring wells. The <br /> surface disturbance of the monitoring wells were very small, roughly 10 feet by 10 feet or less. The <br /> surface of the reclaimed monitoring wells was blended to match with the surrounding land. Generally <br /> the reclaimed monitoring well sites were hard to distinguish from the surrounding landscape. <br /> III. OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS <br /> PHASE I <br /> Two parcels were requested for Phase I bond release in the SL25 application. One parcel consists of 19.9 <br /> acres of Irrigated Pasture on the west side of IP-11 and includes parcels DP-12, DP-13 and a portion of DP-9. <br /> The inspector's GPS was not collecting data properly, so no elevation data points were collected. The <br /> southern approximately 2/3 of this parcel were within the Irrigated Pasture. The pasture crop was alfalfa/grass <br /> mix. The alfalfa was about 24"high and beginning to flower. The crop looked very healthy. This portion of <br /> the irrigated field was on the downslope of the field, and irrigation tail water was draining to the west along <br /> the east side of the topsoil stockpile. The irrigation tail water drains to the north. The field is graded in <br /> accordance with the design and draining adequately.No problems were encountered with the backfill and <br /> grading of this parcel. <br /> The second parcel requested for Phase I bond release consists of 2.7 acres of topsoil stockpile footprint, <br /> located in section 6, south of the facilities area. This parcel is sloped gently to the south, drains well,with no <br /> ponding observed. The grading of this parcel is in agreement with the approved post-mining topography. No <br /> problems were observed with the grading of this parcel. <br /> Summary and Conclusions <br /> Based upon a review of the mine permit,the applicant's bond release application, and site inspections,the <br /> Division finds that Elk Ridge Mining and Reclamation, LLC has completed backfilling, grading and <br /> drainage reestablishment at the New Horizon Mine in accordance with the approved reclamation plan. <br /> PHASE 11 <br /> ERMR requested Phase II bond release on 6 parcels. <br /> One 2.9 acre parcel in Section 6 has an objection from the landowner, Mr. Jim Guire. The <br /> landowner's concerns were specific to an area that had experienced differential settling. There were <br /> no concerns with the topsoil replacement. The post mining land use of this parcel, IP-10, is Irrigated <br /> Pasture and was seeded in 2016. The Irrigated Pasture appeared healthy, and other than the <br /> differentially settled location, and a small gully on the west side of the parcel, the landowner did not <br /> voice any other concerns. The operator said they would work with the landowner on timing of the <br /> repairs, and wait until after the second hay cutting. This was acceptable to all parties present. <br /> C1981008 SL25 Page 8 of 14 <br />