2024-01-10_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1980007 (2)

Home Browse Search

II E5-14 and road E-seam MVB USFS 2017 SL-12 1.09 0.54 1 1.63 II E5-15 and road E-seam MVB USFS 2017 SL-12 1.44 0.62 2.06 II E5-16 and road E-seam MVB USFS 2017 SL-12 0.91 1.16 2.07 II E5-17 E-seam MVB USFS 2017 SL-12 0.00 0.32 0.32 II E5-18 E-seam MVB USFS 2017 SL-12 0.00 0.51 0.51 II 10LWE5X40 Exploration USFS 2017 SL-12 0.00 0.00 0.00 II 10LWE6X62 Exploration USFS 2017 SL-12 0.00 0.00 0.00 II 11LWE5X40 Exploration USFS 2017 SL-12 0.00 0.00 0.00 II 11LWE6X53 Exploration USFS 2017 SL-12 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total Acreage for SL-16 14.36 II. CRITERIA AND SCHEDULE FOR BOND RELEASE PHASE 11 Rule 3.03.1(2)(b) states, "Up to eighty-five percent of the applicable bond amount shall be released upon the establishment of vegetation which supports the approved postmining land use and which meets the approved success standard for cover... based on statistically valid data collected during a single year of the liability period". Regarding Phase II bond release, Rule 3.03.2(3)(b) also states, "No more than sixty (60)percent of the bond shall be released so long as the lands to which the release would be applicable are contributing suspended solids to streamflow or runoff outside the permit area in excess of premining levels as determined by baseline data or in excess of levels determined on adjacent nonmined areas". With regard to Phase 11 bond release, details of the approved reclamation plan are given in section 2.05.4 of the Permit Application Packet(PAP)and in Exhibit 80. The reclamation plan applicable to the sites included in the SL-16 application calls for"stored topsoil [to] be distributed as evenly as possible over the disturbed pad area", and for"the entire drill pad area [to] be re-seeded using an approved USFS seed mix". The vegetative cover success standard is given in section 2.05.4 of the permit application package (PAP) (page 2.05-69). It states that: For total vegetation cover on reclaimed areas, the revegetation success criterion is 53.04 percent total live vegetation cover. This value is derived from the mean of the total vegetation cover values from the 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2010 quantitative data obtained from the historic records vegetation community sampling. Reclaimed areas will be considered successfully reclaimed to the final revegetation success criterion if the total vegetation cover on the reclaimed area is not less than 90 percent of the total vegetation cover value of 53.04 percent, with 90 percent statistical confidence using a one-tailed "t"test. The woody plant density standard has been waived at the West Elk Mine. The approved postmining land use for the parcels described in Table 1 is Rangeland and Wildlife Habitat; accordingly the revegetation objective is to achieve a self-sustaining vegetative cover of hardy grasses, forbs and shrubs that will become a productive and ecologically stable biotic community which will support the grazing of livestock and provide a suitable habitat for wildlife. C-1980-007 Page 6 of 10