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The following summary prepared by Tom Kaldenbach provides some background to this site and the adjacent Arness-McGriffen coal site above. The bolded sections apply to Coal Gulch. 1. In 1977, Arness-McGriffin Coal Co (AMCC) received a Minerals Program permit (77-3 ug/c) for the Coal Gulch Mine. A $13,000+ bond was posted. 2. In 1979, MLRB issued two Cease and Desist Orders to AMCC, one for mining outside the approved permit area and the other for conducting unapproved surface mining operations. 3. In 1981, in response to the C&Ds, AMCC submitted a permanent program application (C-81-042) for the Coal Gulch Mine; however, this application was never found Complete, as AMCC apparently subsequently decided to not obtain a new permanent program permit. 4. In 1981, AMCC allowed its Minerals Permit to expire; the $13,000+ bond, however, was left in place. 5. In 1985, Peerless Resources Inc (PRI) received a permanent program permit for the lower part of the Coal Gulch Mine (C-1984A87). A bond of $140,000 was posted. The highwall (upper) area was left as Sam Arness' responsibility to reclaim. 6. In 1987, MLRD directed Sam Arness to prepare a reclamation plan for the highwall (upper) area, which was accepted by the Division in Feb 1988. No MLRD permit for this upper area was issued. 7. From 1985 through 1987, PRI received numerous violations, which culminated in the revocation of Permit # C-1984-057 in November 1988. PRI's $140,000 bond was left in place. 8. In 1989, Sam Arness was found not implementing the 1988 approved reclamation plan for the upper area, and the $13,000+ AMCC bond was forfeited. Reclamation of the upper area by IMP subsequently occurred, with revegetation occurring in the fall of 1989 (according to a DMG inspection report). 9. In 1990, PRI's $140,000 bond was forfeited. 10. In 1993, Steve Renner asked IMP to develop a reclamation plan for the Coal Gulch Mine, the goals of which were to "stabilize the highwall and the Coal Gulch (upland) diversion, revegetate the area, and treat the drainage coming from the pond". IMP developed a new reclamation plan, and reclaimed the Coal Gulch Mine in 1994. 11. Additional reclamation work was done at the upper area by IMP in 1996. This included some reseeding work. Installation of apost-and-cable guard rail along a portion of the outer edge of the road to the upper area occurred in 12/2000 and 1/2001. 12. We have no money left for either site.