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Reclamation on the western portion of IP-10 generally sloped down to the east/northeast. The reclamation was <br /> stable with vegetative cover. There were no indications of erosional features identified. The swale extends <br /> generally from the north downgradient to the south. The Swale was observed to be stable with no erosional <br /> concerns. The eastern portion of IP-10 slopes from the northeast downgradient to the swale at the southwest. <br /> The eastern portion of IP-10 was covered with vegetation and was stable. There were no indications of <br /> erosional features. Side Roll irrigation equipment was located at the northern permit boundary of the eastern <br /> portion of IP-10. The equipment was inactive during the inspection. The approved post mining topography <br /> for IP-10 can be viewed on Map 2.05.4-1 of the C-1981-008 Permit. <br /> The Division has no jurisdiction to enforce or oversee contracts between the operator and landowners that <br /> pertain to irrigation equipment being transferred from the operator to a landowner. The Division also does not <br /> have jurisdiction over water rights. The highlighted permit page Mr. Guire handed to the Division comes from <br /> an attachment related to Pond 007. Pond 007 was approved for release under a previous bond release and <br /> subsequently removed from the permit area. The Division relinquished jurisdiction over Pond 007 with these <br /> actions. <br /> Following the bond release inspection,the Division received a list of concerns from GW46 Irrevocable Trust <br /> (Please see Attachment 92 at the end of this Findings Document)within the 30 day comment period of the <br /> bond release inspection. This list included Prairie dog holes and Buffalo Burr located within IP-10. <br /> Following the August 13,2025 inspection,ERMR committed to patching prairie dog holes,and to identify and <br /> remove any Buffalo Burr from IP-10. The Division was notified by ERMR on September 9,2025,that ERMR <br /> staff filled in prairie dog holes found on IP-10 and checked for Buffalo Burr(Please see Attachment 93 at the <br /> end of this Findings). ERMR reported to the Division that no remaining Buffalo Burr was identified during <br /> September 8,2025. <br /> Vegetation: <br /> Analysis of the year 9 and year 10 sampling data can be found in Appendix B of the SL-29 Application. Year <br /> 9 sampling was conducted in 2024. IP-10 was compared to the irrigated pasture reference area for the New <br /> Horizon Mine. IP-10 achieved 92.3%perennial cover versus the reference area's 71.3%. This exceeded the <br /> requirement of IP-10 needing to be equal to 90% or higher of the reference area. Year 10 sampling was <br /> conducted in 2025. IP-10 achieved 72.0%perineal cover versus the reference area's 57.1%. The IP-10 <br /> vegetation succeeded in achieving equal to or more than 90%of the reference area. <br /> During year 9 sampling for production,IP-10 succeeded the success criteria. Perennial production for year 9 <br /> sampling was1,934.5 pounds per acre. The reference area produced 878.3 pounds per acre. IP-10 meets the <br /> standard or equaling or exceeding 90%of the reference area production. During year 10 sampling,IP-10 <br /> again achieved exceeding the production of the reference area by producing more than 90%of the reference <br /> area perennial production. IP-10 achieved 1265.5 pounds per acre versus the reference area's 523.6 pounds <br /> per acre. <br /> Hydrology: <br /> The hydrology demonstration can be found in Appendix C of the SL-29 Application. The submitted <br /> analysis and subsequent review allow the Division to evaluate the degree that onsite impacts have <br /> C-1981-008 SL-29 Page 8 of 10 <br />