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May 15, 2025 C-1981-019/Colowyo Coal Mine HR1 <br /> <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 8 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 3 <br /> Page 2 of 11 <br /> <br /> <br />Inspection Topic Summary <br />NOTE: Y=Inspected N=Not Inspected R=Comments Noted V=Violation Issued NA=Not Applicable <br />N - Air Resource Protection <br />N - Availability of Records <br />R - Backfill & Grading <br />N - Excess Spoil and Dev. Waste <br />N - Explosives <br />Y - Fish & Wildlife <br />Y - Hydrologic Balance <br />N - Gen. Compliance With Mine Plan <br />N - Other <br />N - Processing Waste <br /> <br />N - Roads <br />N - Reclamation Success <br />N - Revegetation <br />N - Subsidence <br />N - Slides and Other Damage <br />N - Support Facilities On-site <br />Y - Signs and Markers <br />N - Support Facilities Not On-site <br />N - Special Categories Of Mining <br />Y - Topsoil <br /> <br /> <br />COMMENTS <br /> <br />This was a partial inspection at the Colowyo Mine conducted by Hunter Ridley of the Colorado Division <br />of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division). Andrew Monroy of the Office of Surface Mining and <br />Reclamation Enforcement (OSM), Tom Cummings of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Tom <br />Fry and Tony Tennyson representing Colowyo Mine (Colowyo) accompanied the inspection. The State <br />Land Board was notified of the inspection but did not attend. The focus of this inspection was for bond <br />release as requested through Colowyo’s SL-24 (Phase I) application. A total of 145.9 acres, associated <br />with the West Pit, north and east of the Collom Pit, and northeast of the Gossard Loadout facility as <br />shown on Map 1 of the SL-24 application, have been requested for release. The weather was partly <br />cloudy, and ground conditions were mostly dry. Temperatures reached a high of about 55 degrees <br />Fahrenheit. <br /> <br />BACKFILL and GRADING – Rule 4.14 Contemporaneous Reclamation 4.14.1; Approximate <br />Original Contour 4.14.2; Highwall Elimination 4.14.1(2)(f); Steep Slopes 4.14.2, 4.27; Handling of <br />Acid and Toxic Materials 4.14.3; Stabilization of Rills and Gullies 4.14.6: <br /> <br />Rule 3.03.1(2)(a) states, "Up to sixty percent of the applicable bond amount shall be released when the <br />permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, and drainage control in accordance with the approved <br />reclamation plan." The Division inspected all SL-24 requested areas across the site to ensure Colowyo has met <br />the backfill, grading and drainage control establishment requirements outlined in Colowyo’s PAP. <br /> <br />The total acreage being requested for Phase I bond release is 145.9 acres and has been broken up into 5 areas. <br />These are summarized below: <br /> <br />Area 1: Area 1 is a reclaimed drill pad comprised of 0.1 acres. The pad was reclaimed in 2016. Reclamation <br />activities included filling the drill hole with cuttings, replacing topsoil on the area, and seeding. <br /> <br />Area 2: Area 2 is a reclaimed water line comprised of 14.8 acres. Reclamation activities included backfilling <br />and grading the trench used to construct the water line, topsoiling and seeding. <br /> <br />Area 3: Area 3 is made up of twelve small fire lines which total 3.7 acres. Fire lines were cut in to control a <br />wildland fire that occurred east of Collom Pit. Reclamation activities included reseeding of the brushed areas.