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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE P~~ e 9 Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. Reclamation Success The reclaimed areas have been restored to the approximate original contour of the pre-mining landscape. Slopes generally aze in agreement with approved post-mining contours as shown on Post-mine Contour Map, Exhibit 12-9 and on Exhibit E of the Phase I bond release application. Reconstructed drainages throughout the reclaimed azeas with exception of the East Wadge Pit area remain in good condition with maintenance needed on limited areas noted previously in this report. Pre-Law Pre-law refers to those lands that aze mined prior to the passage of the Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act and the Federal interim rules which took effect on May 5, 1978. The pre-law azeas aze those lands where coal was removed prior to May 5, 1978. For the lands mined prior to the passage of SMCRA, the Colorado Open Mining Land Reclamation Act of 1973 as amended in 1976, regulated coal mining activities. On Exhibit B of the Phase I bond release application, SCC identified pre-law lands with a coal removal limit date of August 3, 1977 and May 3, 1978. These azeas correspond to the yellow and green shaded azeas, respectively on Exhibit B. The DRMS will evaluate the pre-law reclamation using the criteria from the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act of 1976, C.R.S. 1973, 34-32-101 et. seq., as amended. The rules were promulgated in May 1977. The reclamation criteria considered during this bond release inspection for those areas evaluated as Pre-Law included backfill and grading, site stability, drainage control, and erosion features. The DRMS Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance for the Phase I Bond Release are forthcoming. Additional criteria contained in the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act of 1976 maybe used to evaluate information obtained during the Phase I bond release inspection in the forthcoming decision document. The pre-law azeas were inspected on August 11, 2006 by Sandra Brown and Mike Boulay of the DRMS. Roy Kazo of SCC and Jay James of JEC, Inc. accompanied the DRMS during the inspection. The lower azeas in the northern part of the permit azea east and southeast of the Wadge Impoundment all look good with a dense vegetative cover. With exception of the maintenance items discussed previously in this report for the seep and slide above PECOCO Pond and Post-Mine Channels PM-2 and PM-23, the pre-law lands southeast of the PECOCO Pond were also stable and well vegetated. No other items of concern were noted for these pre- law lands. A photograph of the pre-law area south of PECOCO Pond is shown in Photograph Number 22.