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feet of limestone is removed and the first highwall is backfilled at 4H:iV, water will be impounded at that interface. This <br />will be addressed in more detail during the adequacy review. The third item concerns reclamation of the drainages. <br />Presently, the drainages exhibit good stability as they should once they are reclaimed, however, the specific detail of how <br />these drainages will be stabilized during vegetation establishment is a concern. Furthermore, the vegetative composition <br />in the drainages appears to be different from the surrounding uplands and should probably be taken into account when <br />designing the seed mixes for these areas. In addition, the transition from the undisturbed drainage above the pit cut into <br />the reclaimed pit is also a concern from an erosional standpoint, and will require additional clarification. <br />A couple of other issues of general concern about the operation were also raised and include blasting and the disposal of <br />cement kiln dust and fly ash. These will also be addressed in more detail during the adequacy review. Apparently no <br />springs or seeps have been identified on the site and all indications from drill logs are that this will be a dry mine. In <br />addition, no stock,wells or domestic wells were observed during the inspection. However, this subject will also be <br />broached during the review. <br />A separate matter that is unrelated to this application is the reclamation of two test pits under a prospecting application. <br />These sites were inspected and the re-grading was adequate with the exception of a couple of areas near the highwalls <br />where some minor slumping was observed. It appeared that topsoil had been properly replaced and evenly spread over <br />the disturbed areas. Unfortunately, almost no permanent vegetative cover has established on these sites. No drill rows <br />were evident and it appears highly unlikely that the sites were seeded and the very sparse amount of grass observed on <br />the site probably volunteered from the adjacent undisturbed area. None of the species that are in the approved mix (blue <br />grama, side-oatr grama, and western wheatgrass) were observed and the current cover consists almost entirely of a very <br />poor stand of annual weeds dominated by kochia. Although these sites are under a separate permit, the reclamation <br />process needs to be completed. Probably the best course of action would be to rip the surface followed by seeding with <br />the approved seed mix and mulching with a noxious weed free native grass or straw mulch. Alternatively, the site could <br />be seeded utilizing a companion crop such as oats along with the approved mix or seeding with a cover crop such as <br />sorghum followed by a dormant seeding this fall. The first two alternatives should be completed prior to the end of April <br />but if a sorghum cover crop is used it would be seeded from late May through the middle of July. <br />This completed the inspection. <br />I & E Contact Address <br />NAME; Brian McGill <br />OPERATOR: GCC Rio Grande. Inc. <br />STREET: 11783 States Hjghway 337 <br />CITY/STATE/ZIP: T-de~'j5. NM A0759 <br />cc; Jim Stevens-DMG (via a-mail) <br />AI Amundson-DMG {via a-mail) <br />^ CE <br />^ BL <br />^ FS <br />^ HW <br />^ HMWMD (CH) <br />^ SE <br />^ ^ OTHER <br />