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-_~ I. PROCEDURE FOR SEEKING BOND RELEASE AND SUbII~tARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS This document presents the results of the Division's review of a request from the New Castle Investment Group (NCIG) fora 60% bond release for the Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine. NCIG has applied for a Phase I bond release under Rule 3.032 of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining. The Division currently holds a 5288,000.00 bond for the Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine. A Phase I bond release could release up to 5172,800 and leave, at a minimum, a bond of 5115,200 for the remaining reclamation work. NCIG submitted its request for a Phase I bond release on January 31, 1995. The required public notice was published for four weeks in the Glenwood Post between February 14 and March 7, 1995. The Affidavit of Publication was received by the Division on March 24, 1995, in conjunction with Certified Mail receipts from notification of the landowners and appropriate government entities, per Rule 3.03.2(1). The Division called the application wmplete on April 3, 1995. No comments were received from the landowners. The Division performed a bond release inspection on April 28, 1995. Four representatives of NCIG, one OSM inspector, and two DMG inspectors attended the inspection. II. CRITERIA AND SCHEDULE FOR BOND RELEASE Rule 3.03.1(2)(a) states, "Up to sixty percent of the applicable bond amount shall be released when the permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, and drainage control in accordance with the approved reclamation plan." With regard to the Phase I bond release, the approved plan calls for: • Covering the cut and fill terraces with 16 inches of topsoil and retaining the terrace outslopes as they are based on the outslopes having a minimum static safety factor of 1.3; • Sealing and covering of the portals and backfilling and regrading the portal areas to blend in with the pre-existing topography; • Burial of waste rock in mine portals and placement of waste rock that cannot be buried at the foot of the terrace outslopes and at the foot of the cut slope on the east end of the lower terrace.