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RULE 2 PERMITS <br /> <br />Rule 2 Permits 2.05-17 Revision Date: 3/7/25 <br /> Revision No.: TR-166 <br />the establishment of reclaimed plant communities that meet the designated post mining land use <br />of rangeland, with the subcomponents of grazingland and wildlife habitat. Please see Section <br />2.05.5 for a detailed description of the post mine land uses at Colowyo. <br /> <br />Areas designated as grazingland for the post mining land use will aim to establish vegetation <br />communities comprised of species primarily selected for palatability and production, with <br />incidental wildlife habitat. The reclamation seed mixes utilized in grazingland targeted areas are <br />designed to establish highly productive stands of native perennial grasses to support grazing and <br />forage, yet the mixes contain forbs and shrubs to also provide additional benefits for incidental <br />wildlife use. <br /> <br />Areas designated for wildlife habitat as the post mining land use will aim to establish a sagebrush <br />steppe vegetation community. The reclamation seed mix utilized in sagebrush steppe targeted areas <br />is designed to encourage sagebrush establishment by adapting the seed mix to reduce perennial <br />grass competition to give sagebrush and forbs an opportunity to establish. Reclamation techniques <br />that will encourage the deposition and entrapment of blowing snow (to increase spring soil <br />moisture) are also employed in sagebrush steppe targeted areas, to provide a competitive advantage <br />to sagebrush over perennial grasses. These techniques include taking advantage of site-specific <br />opportunities for the development of convex and concave surfaces along with the potential <br />development of small berms along the contour and approximately perpendicular to prevailing <br />winds. <br /> <br />The reclamation timetable and associated acreages for the various aspects of the mining operation <br />are provided on Table 2.03-1. <br /> <br />In the South Taylor reclamation areas, geomorphic reclamation techniques will be implemented in <br />the final PMT surface. Geomorphic reclamation techniques are used to design and construct a <br />PMT, which beaks up long continuous slopes with smaller watersheds, adds sinuosity to the post <br />mine permanent channels, and creates a landform that is erosionally stable. Part of the final <br />configuration of the South Taylor geomorphic reclamation PMT surface specifically targets <br />topography to harvest wind and snow for reestablishment of tall shrubs and aspens, which are <br />required for the revegetation success of the South Taylor Pit. <br /> <br />Backfill and Grading Plan <br /> <br />As discussed in detail in Section 2.05.3, the mining method implemented by Colowyo is referred <br />to as open-pit multiple seam/single seam dragline mining. The overburden material from the initial <br />boxcut area was deposited in a permanent valley fill. As mining progresses, overburden material <br />from each successive cut is backfilled into the previously mined out area. This cycle was repeated <br />for the entire mining area. Because an open-pit mining technique is used, the regrading and <br />backfilling of the spoil material is as contemporaneous as possible behind the mined-out area to <br />facilitate proper leveling of the overburden material. <br /> <br />The backfilled mining areas are graded to establish the approximate original contour and to blend <br />in with the undisturbed areas outside the mining limits. Additional information on the backfilling <br />and regrading plan are discussed further in Section 2.05.3 and Section 4.14.