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remote disturbances that do not report to sediment ponds and are permitted as Small Area Exemptions <br /> (SAES),in accordance with Rule 4.05.2(3). The mine operation plan calls for the use of best <br /> management practices such as straw bales, silt fence and/or excelsior waddles in order to minimize <br /> sediment run-off during their active life. The reclamation plan specifies that the holes are to be plugged <br /> and abandoned,in accordance with Rule 4.07.3, so as to minimize the potential for surface water- <br /> groundwater interaction; and that the disturbed surface should be regraded and revegetated so as to <br /> minimize surface water impacts (see pages 2.05-30, -38, and-87 of the PAP). <br /> Approved revegetation success criteria specific to the West Elk Mine are technical standards derived <br /> from a previously sampled reference area. Details of the derivation of the standards are given in the <br /> PAP; the standards themselves are given on page 2.05-69 of the PAP, and are quoted below: <br /> Cover: <br /> Reclaimed areas will be considered successfully reclaimed to the final revegetation success <br /> criterion if the total vegetation cover on the reclaimed area is not less than 90 percent of the <br /> total vegetation cover value of 53.04 percent, with 90 percent statistical confidence using a one- <br /> tailed "t"test. <br /> Production: <br /> Reclaimed areas will be considered successfully reclaimed to the final revegetation success <br /> criterion if the total herbaceous production on the reclaimed area is not less than 90 percent of <br /> the total herbaceous production value of 180.38 g/m2 with 90 percent statistical confidence with <br /> a one-tailed "t"test. <br /> Species Diversity: <br /> To meet the requirements of the final revegetation success criterion for species composition, <br /> species composition on any reclaimed area shall be such that there are at least three perennial <br /> species of which two are cool season perennial grasses and one is a cool season perennial forb. <br /> No one component of the above three species should comprise greater than 40% relative cover <br /> nor less than 3%relative cover, during a given year's quantitative sampling. Vegetation species <br /> that may be used in the calculation of species composition maybe any plant species not defined <br /> as a noxious or prohibited plant species, and may be native or introduced. <br /> III. OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS <br /> PHASE III <br /> The sites in the SL-17 partial Phase III application previously received Phase I bond release with SL-3 <br /> and Phase II bond release with SL-4 or SL-13 (with the exceptions noted in the footnote to Table 1). <br /> Vegetation sampling to support the SL-17 application was carried out between June 16-21, 2019, and <br /> between June 20-25, 2022, by Savage and Savage Environmental, Inc. Seeding of the parcels included <br /> in the SL-17 application took place in 2008 (or earlier), as such, the sampling schedule satisfies Rule <br /> C-1980-007 Page 7 of 11 <br />