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9 <br />e) Rainfall is the primary cause of erosion or sediment transport <br />at the site. Because of the relatively low elevation and south <br />facing aspect of the reclaimed areas, precipitation in the form of <br />snow is limited, and snow does not accumulate over the winter. <br />f) Overall, erosion on reclaimed slopes appears to be minimal, <br />with moderate erosion in certain ditch and drainage locations as <br />described. <br />(v) The extent to which the site is located near or above <br />urbanized areas, communities, occupied dwellings, schools, and <br />other public or commercial buildings and facilities. <br />The nearest occupied dwelling is approximately 3 miles south of the <br />mine site, along the Highline Irrigation Canal. The town of Fruita <br />is approximately 12 miles south of the mine, and there are numerous <br />residences in the agricultural areas between the Highline Canal and <br />Fruita. The Bookliffs and adjacent desert BLM lands are used by <br />recreationists including hunters, target shooters, bike riders, <br />four wheelers, etc., and as noted previously, the mine area does <br />receive some use, but the mine does not appear to pose a <br />significant risk to the public. <br />(vi) The extent of reclamation completed prior to abandonment and <br />the degree of stability of reclaimed and/or unreclaimed areas, <br />taking into consideration the physical characteristics of the land <br />mined and the extent of settlement or revegetation that has <br />occurred naturally within them. <br />a) The only remaining facility on site which will ultimately need <br />to be removed is the CMP spillway riser section described <br />previously. <br />b) There is one remaining road associated with the mines, which <br />extends from the county road at the base of the site just south of <br />the sediment pond, to the relatively flat, reclaimed No. 1 Mine <br />bench. This road will remain in its current configuration, in <br />compliance with the landowner's request. The gravel surfaced road <br />is approximately 2200 feet in length, with an average width of 20 <br />feet. The road surface is somewhat rutted in some areas, and some <br />shallow rilling is present along lower segments, but several water <br />bars are still intact, and drainage from the surface of the road is <br />routed into the sediment pond. A safety berm is still in place <br />along the outside of the roadway, and steep road outslopes along <br />upper segments of the road are moderately well vegetated with no <br />rills or gullies. <br />c) Extent of backfilling and grading and year completed is <br />described previously. There is no additional backfilling and <br />grading work to be accomplished. <br />d) There are no current signs of settling on any of the reclaimed <br />areas. As previously described, there was settling associated with <br />