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Mine development into the West pit and Section 16 areas will require initial boxcuts resulting in <br />additional stockpiling of topsoil. Once pit development has progressed and regraded areas are <br />available, direct haul replacement will again proceed in these areas. Stockpiled topsoil will be <br />used to reclaim the final pits. <br />Thirteen years of topsoil handling at Colowyo leaves little doubt that there is sufficient topsoil <br />resource available to complete the reclamation goals. Whenever possible topsoil stockpiling is <br />avoided and direct haul is the preferred method of topsoil handling. <br />The dynamics of the Colowyo operation to prepare regraded areas for topsoil is at times out of <br />sync with the topsoil stripping operation that may vary from 3 inch to 20 foot depths. Typically, <br />the last loads of topsoil hauled into a regraded spoil area will be left in place in a narrow <br />windrow adjacent to the area to be seeded. Since, in the spring of the next year, this is the first <br />topsoil to be respread onto the advancing regraded spoil, the windrow is always left in place for <br />less than one year. The topsoil is protected from wind acid water erosion by placement in stable <br />areas and avoidance of drainage bottoms where external erosion might pose a potential threat. <br />The topsoil is left in a rough condition which combined with the natural woody plant material <br />removed with the topsoil successfully controls wind erosion. Due to the temporary nature of the <br />windrows and its function in the yearly direct topsoil haul operation, it is unrealistic fo locate <br />them on the Topsoil Handling Maps 28A and 286 , <br />Topsoil in excess of the demands of the direct haul operation to regraded spoil is placed in <br />topsoil storage stockpiles. The topsoil storage stockpiles far the mine plan area are shown on <br />the Topsoil Handling Maps 28A and 286. As can be seen, topsoil stockpiles have been <br />constructed in the permit area to handle material which is in excess of current redistribution <br />needs. The excess topsoil has been removed from the mining boxcut areas, from haul roads <br />and from mine facility locations. The planned contemporaneous stockpiling and reapplication <br />will eliminate the need to move topsoil stockpiles from one area to another prior to reapplication <br />onto graded spoil. <br />2.05-26 <br />June 18,2002 <br />MR-57 <br />CF 4.1.1.3. <br />