2023-10-26_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981038

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Post-Mine Land Use The approved post-mining land use is the same as the pre-mine land use of rangeland with wildlife habitat (as discussed in Section 2.05.5 of the PAP). Protection of the Hydrologic Balance Consideration of a Phase III bond release application must assess compliance with the Probable Hydrologic Consequences section of the PAP (Section 2.05.6 of the PAP), namely whether offsite impacts and material damage have been prevented. III. OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS PHASE I—not applicable for SL-08 PHASE II—not applicable for SL-08 PHASE III Drainage Control and Reestablishment The East Mine includes permanent drainage channels. The Division has inspected them for many years (including during the SL-09 bond release inspection) and found that the constructed channels: • Are not causing downstream flooding • Are not endangering property or public safety • Do not appear to be negatively impacting the hydrologic balance • Are stable • Do not divert runoff water into the mine portals. Topsoil Replacement The success in terms of re-vegetation of the East Mine area(see discussion below) and the lack of erosion suggests that the replacement of topsoil was sufficient. Revegetation East Mine area reclamation work was last performed in 2011. Data collected on the reclaimed East Mine area in 2022 and 2023 demonstrate that the reclaimed vegetation community met the reclamation success standards for both years. The following details of the Division's assessment are based on the criteria listed above in Section II. The standard for total plant cover is 40 percent, and achieving 90 percent of the standard, or 36 percent, is considered acceptable. Total plant cover in 2022 measured 50.6 percent. Total plant cover in 2023 measured 54.2 percent. Total plant cover exceeded the standard in both years of sampling. SL-09 Findings,Permit C-1981-038 Page 7 of 12