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H.PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS
<br /> Colowyo Coal Company L.P.applied for a partial Phase I,II and III bond release for 1.8 acres associated with
<br /> the Streeter South Side Ditch as shown on Map 1 of the SL-25 application and Figure 1 of this document.
<br /> Streeter South Side Ditch was requested by the partial landowner,Tri-State Generation and Transmission
<br /> Association,Inc.(Tri-State),to be retained as a permanent structure.This was approved under MR262 with
<br /> concurrence from the Bureau of Land Management as partial landowner.The request from the landowner for
<br /> the pond to remain as a permanent structure is found in Volume 2A,Exhibit 1B in the Colowyo Permit
<br /> Application Package(PAP).The bond release area is located in Moffat County in Colowyo Coal Mine'
<br /> Township 3 North,Range 93 West of the 6th P.M.,Section 2—SW%4 E'/2,Section 2—SE%4 NE%4 and
<br /> Section 11—NW'/4 NE%4. The permit area can be found on the USGS Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series
<br /> Maps of Axial and Nine Mile Gap. The permit area and surface ownership can be found on Map 1 of
<br /> the Colowyo Permit Application Package (PAP), and the coal ownership can be found on Map 2 of the
<br /> Colowyo PAP.
<br /> An application for Phase I,II,III bond release was received by the Division on May 22,2025. The application was
<br /> deemed complete on June 18,2025,after the Division received proof of publication of the applicant's public notice.
<br /> Colowyo Coal Company L.P.published notice of the bond release application in CO Mountain News Media-Craig
<br /> Daily Press once weekly for four consecutive weeks, beginning May 21, 2025, and ending on June 11, 2025.
<br /> Colowyo Coal Company L.P. also notified landowners within and adjacent to the mine permit area, and other
<br /> interested parties of the application for bond release,as required by Rule 3.03.2(1).
<br /> No comments,written objections,or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release application were
<br /> received by the Division.
<br /> The Division scheduled and conducted a bond release inspection on July 17,2025.The site inspection was conducted
<br /> in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2).The inspection was attended by Hunter Ridley of the Division,Andrew Monroy
<br /> of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement(OMSRE),Tom Cummings with the Bureau of Land
<br /> Management(BLM) and by Tony Tennyson representing CCC. A summary of the bond release inspection is
<br /> presented in Section III, of this document. Detailed observations of the inspection are documented in the
<br /> inspection report that was issued July 22, 2025. See Figure 1 of this document for the location of the SL-25
<br /> partial Phase I,II,III Bond Release area.
<br /> Background
<br /> The East Pit and West Pit mining sites lie just west of the northward flowing Goodspring(also referred
<br /> to as Good Spring) Creek, which is paralleled by Colorado Highway 13. The area includes gently
<br /> sloping uplands and valleys that cut into the upland surface. These valleys are generally narrow, V-
<br /> shaped, and about 250 to 500 feet deep. Elevations range from approximately 7,650 feet in the upper
<br /> portion of East Pit reclamation to 6,950 feet near East Taylor Pond.
<br /> Mining operations began in 1976 with the East Pit, a multi-seam coal operation that continued to move
<br /> in a southerly direction. Eight coal seams (Y, X, A, B, C, D, E, F)were mined from the East Pit,
<br /> ranging in thickness from two to fifteen feet. The East Pit is nearly 6,000 feet from east to west(width),
<br /> 1,000 feet in breadth (highwall to highwall), and 450 feet deep. Due to the number of coal seams,
<br /> immense size of the pit, and manpower and equipment employed,pit progression was slow, with
<br /> additional disturbances of approximately 40 to 50 acres per year.
<br /> Extraction of coal from the East Pit was terminated in 2006. All reclamation activities have been
<br /> completed in the East Pit and is in the required final revegetation stages.
<br /> Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance
<br /> Partial Phase I,II and III Bond Release SL-25 Page 3 of 14
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