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<br />Summary of the Review Process
<br />Storm King Mines, Inc. submitted a permit application for the Coal Ridge No. 1
<br />Mine on March 12, 1984 pursuant to Section 34-33-109 of the Colorado Surface
<br />Coal Mining Reclamation Act. The permit application was deemed complete on
<br />April 3, 1984. The application was reviewed following completeness, and an
<br />adequacy letter was sent out on June 4, 1484. Resolution of the identified
<br />deficiencies was required in order for the Division to make determinations of
<br />compliance with the Act. Subsequently, the Division and the applicant
<br />corresponded several times, and the final responses were incorporated into the
<br />permit application. As a result, the review process was adequately completed,
<br />and the Division approved, in-part, the Coal Ridge No. 1 permit application
<br />with stipulations for a three year permit term on November 9, 1985.
<br />In July 1985, Storm King Mines, Inc. underwent a name change to the New Castle
<br />Energy Corporation, Inc. (NCEC).
<br />On November 25, 1987, the Division sent notification to NCEC for permit
<br />renewal, and on April 12, 1987, received an application for renewal of its
<br />permit to conduct coal mining. During the next several months, NCEC attempted
<br />to obtain financial support for continued operation as well as engineering
<br />support to resolve numerous adequacy issues identified in earlier reviews.
<br />Their efforts were unsuccessful, so on January 17, 1989 NCEC submitted to the
<br />Division a letter formally requesting renewal of the permit allowing only
<br />reclamation. The Division proposed approval of such renewal on
<br />November 1, 1989, and the new permit was issued on December 10, 1989, for a
<br />term of three years. The permit included a condition requiring that the
<br />operator backfill, grade, seed, and mulch the disturbed areas of the site
<br />within one year of permit issuance (by December 10, 1990).
<br />The application for Permit Revision No. 1 was submitted by NCEC on
<br />March 9, 1990. Because of the many inadequacies remaining from the original
<br />mining and reclamation plan, the application was substantially revised and
<br />submitted as an entirely new document. The application was deemed complete by
<br />the Division on March 19, 1990. The Division completed its preliminary
<br />adequacy review on April 27, 1990, with a letter sent to NCEC on that date.
<br />Preliminary adequacy responses were received by the Division on May 31, 1990.
<br />Following further review by the Division, a second adequacy letter was sent to
<br />the applicant on July 25, 1990, and responses to those issues received on
<br />August 7, 1990. A third adequacy letter was sent to the applicant on
<br />September 4, 1990. Additional adequacy responses were received by the
<br />Division on September 13, 1990. An additional adequacy letter was sent to the
<br />applicant on October 2, 1990 and responses to these remaining concerns were
<br />received October 17, 1990.
<br />Considerable public participation in the permit review process took place
<br />during the review period. Pursuant to Rule 2.07.4(6) of the Regulations of
<br />the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining, an Informal
<br />Conference was held in Glenwood Springs on June 21, 1990, and a mine site
<br />inspection was conducted prior to the conference on June 14, 1990. A synopsis
<br />of the concerns received by the Division during the informal conference and
<br />review process and the Divisions response to these concerns is contained in
<br />Appendix A which follows these findings.
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