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3 <br />permittee of the Fruita Mines. On September 20, 1989, an <br />application for a reclamation plan was submitted by American <br />Shield. The reclamation plan was approved in February, 1990, <br />although no permit was issued. All structures were dismantled and <br />removed from the site. Portals of the Fruita No. 2 Mine were <br />sealed and backfilled in the fall of 1989, and the entire disturbed <br />area was backfilled and graded in 1990/1991. Regraded areas were <br />hydroseeded in 1991, with limited success on steep slope areas, and <br />moderate success on other areas. American Shield conducted some <br />remedial grading work to repair settling of the #1 Mine portal <br />backfill in 1994. <br />In June, 1991, OSM objected to the Division's approval of highwall <br />retention. In September 1991, the Division issued Notice of <br />Violation C-91-024 for failure to reclaim to approximate original <br />contour and failure to eliminate the highwall associated with the <br />Fruita #1 portals. Failure to Abate Cessation Order No. C-93-158 <br />was issued by the Division on December 15, 1993. <br />The $36,000 reclamation bond was forfeited in March, 1994. A <br />portion of the forfeited bond was utilized by the Division in the <br />spring of 1996 to reseed the Mine #1 bench outslope, which had <br />exhibited poor establishment of seeded vegetation, and was <br />dominated by cheatgrass and weedy annual vegetation. Minor <br />drainage repairs including replacement of a damaged culvert and <br />ditch maintenance were also conducted at that time. The cost of <br />this work was 57.651.00 , leaving remaining reclamation bond in the <br />amount of 528349.00 . <br />Are there any pre-law or pre-permit mining related <br />disturbances? <br />Remnants of several old pre-law wagon mines are present in the <br />general vicinity of the mine site, including the Stove Canyon, Coal <br />Gulch (or Johnson), Farmer's, Anchor No. 1, Anchor No. 2 (or <br />Hicks), and the Buniger. Coal was extracted by room and pillar <br />underground mining. The old Farmer's mine portals were in the <br />Anchor Seam, immediately to the east of the Fruita No. 2 Mine <br />Bench, on the east side of the draw. The Farmer's mine disturbance <br />was apparently graded and seeded sometime prior to initiation of <br />Fruita No. 1 and 2 development work, which occurred in the summer <br />of 1977, but some old concrete foundations are still exposed, along <br />with an old cistern. Some coaly material is apparent in a couple <br />locations just downslope from the portals, and one of the old <br />backfilled portal openings has partly collapsed, with a vertical <br />opening apparently extending into the old works. The opening is <br />approximately 14" in diameter at the surface, and is located <br />approximately 1/3 of the way up the slope to the east of the <br />drainage, directly east of the reclaimed Fruita #2 bench. <br />