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RULE 4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS <br /> <br />Rule 4 Performance Standards 4-54 Revision Date: 12/14/22 <br /> Revision No.: MR-245 <br />Colowyo does not currently plan to have concurrent surface or underground mining activities; <br />therefore, the requirements of this Section are not applicable to this permit application. <br /> <br />4.23 AUGER AND HIGHWALL MINING <br /> <br />4.23.1 Scope <br /> <br />This Section establishes environmental protection performance standards in addition to those <br />applicable performance standards in Rule 4, to prevent any unnecessary loss of coal reserves and <br />to prevent adverse environmental effects from auger mining incident to surface mining activities. <br /> <br />4.23.3 Performance Standards <br /> <br />4.23.4 Maximize Recoverability of Mineral Reserves <br /> <br />Colowyo maximize recoverability of the mineral resources through highwall mining in the East, <br />West, and Section 16 Pits. Please see Map 23 for the historically mined areas. Also please see <br />Section 4.23.2 in Volume 12 and 15 for additional information pertaining to the South Taylor and <br />Collom Pit. <br /> <br />4.23.5 Undisturbed Areas of Coal Shall Be Left in Unmined Sections <br /> <br />As for the CDRMS Rules (Rules) requirement for leaving undisturbed areas of coal in unmined <br />sections, Colowyo contends that this application of the Rules does not apply since the seams to be <br />highwall mined are being accessed from active surface pits that by this Permit and other applicable <br />sections of the Rules are required to be backfilled and fully reclaimed. Hence should undisturbed <br />barrier areas of coal be left for some future access, these potential portal areas would be <br />inaccessible for future generations because they would be buried under the pit backfill. <br />Additionally and importantly, as discussed above, due to the many geological reasons, there is not <br />economical coal to be recovered from “behind” the areas slated to be highwall mined. <br /> <br />4.23.6 Abandoned or Active Underground Mine Workings <br /> <br />To Colowyo’s knowledge, no abandoned or active underground mine workings have ever existed <br />or currently exist in any of the coal seams in the areas proposed to be highwall mined. No highwall <br />mining will be allowed to take place within 500 feet of any abandoned or active underground <br />mining operation. <br /> <br />4.23.7 Surface Mining Activities and Highwall Mining <br /> <br />The highwall mining shall follow the surface coal mining activities in a contemporaneous manner <br />consistent with the applicable requirements of CDRMS Rule 4. Due to active pit progressions and <br />sequencing of mining (in addition to meeting the Permit requirements for contemporaneous <br />reclamation), it is required that highwall mining occurs timely if not immediately following <br />conclusion of pit mining activities. Also, as described more fully in 2.06.9(2), the need to backfill, <br />i.e., contemporaneously reclaim the pits, is mandatory for Colowyo in order to build the pit floor