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• i • Mr. David C. Shelton January 26, 1981 Page Two but was unable to define a revised boundary for the areal extent. Therefore, at our meeting Darry Ferguson inquired about the Division's concept of "exempt area plus adjacent area" and asked it to define its concept. As I understood it, representatives of the Division were to provide such a definition to Darry or to me. The third area we discussed involved the Division's interpretation of the scope of the exemption provision. Mr. Bischoff 's letter found that Empire Energy is subject to the provisions of CRS 34-33-120(2)(J)(VI). In our meeting, I understood a Division representative to state that Mr. Louis Woods of the Colorado State Attorney General's Office was in agreement with Mr. Bischoff's finding. However, Darry Ferguson and I informed you of our belief that the provisions of Section 120(2)(J)(VI) are not applicable to the underground mining operations of Empire. In light of the inconsistent positions of the Division and Empire, I re- quested that you seek an opinion of the State Attorney General as to whether the Division's position on the applicability of Section 120(2)(J)(VI) to underground mines is correct. I also questioned the correctness of the Division's position that a mine must meet certain AVF-related performance standards if it is exempt under the AVF exemption provision and requested the opinion of the Attorney General or the Division on the issue. In summary, I understood that Darry Ferguson and I had requested the following in the December 24 meeting: (1) Clarification of the kind and amount of material necessary and acceptable to the Division to convince it to find that Empire's Mines Number 6, 7, and 8 are a part of the planned operation and thus entitled to the AVF exemption. (2) Clarification and quantification of the Division's interpretation of the concept of "areal extent plus adjacent area." (3) A written opinion of the Attorney General on (a) the applicability of CRS 34-33-120(2)(J)(VI) to Empire's submission and its underground mining complex, and (b) the interaction between the AVF exemption and its effect on the necessity to comply with the performance standards in other sections of the Colorado Statute that are the same or similar to the standards for which the AVF exemption is granted.