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Memo to Steven G. Renner -2- March 16, 1992 What requires change is how the permittee will comply with this requirement, given the current on-site conditions. As the permittee ceased mining prior to producing the amount of waste necessary to backfill its highwalls entirely, a new set of highwall elimination plans must be submitted. Because preparation of new plans will involve addressing new blasting and cut-and-fill operations in areas currently unapproved to be affected, and because we are currently in the process of developing amendments to our rules regarding highwall elimination that, with regard to pre-1977 disturbances, will directly affect these new plans, Stipulation No. 1 1 was incorporated into the permit. Stipulation No. 11 states that "within 180 days of permit renewal approval, the permittee will submit for approval plans for highwall elimination or other reclamation options allowed by then current regulatory requirements for all regulated highwalls within the permit area. Ongoing discussions between the Division and permittee contemplate changes in the regulations regarding elimination of highwalls. These changes are expected to facilitate review and development of site-specific reclamation measures for individual highwall segments to best meet overall reclamation objectives. At such time as the regulations regarding highwall elimination are revised, the permittee may submit a revision incorporating the alternate highwall reclamation plans." Regardless of the outcome of our request for approval of our proposed highwall regulations, the permittee for the Helen/Animas Mine will have to submit a new set of reclamation plans. The outcome of our request will affect only the decree of the design changes. In either case, the new plans may require pre-blast surveys, blasting andlor cut- and-fill operations, new surface hydrologic systems and structures, and new reclamation cost estimates and bonding. Such plans will have to be filed in the form of a Permit Revision, as areas currently unapproved for these activities will have to be added to the permit's affected area acreage. Processing the Permit Revision will take a minimum of 80 to 90 days, if no public objections are received. This may be optimistic, as Las Animas County recently changed their zoning regulations to prohibit the commencement of any new strip mining operations in non-agricultural areas. Requiring the permittee to prepare these plans, and the Division to review them, before the outcome of our program amendment request is assured, places both parties in a situation where their efforts could be duplicated. Waiting until the outcome is known, however, allows our regulatory process to be implemented in a manner that, for both the permittee and the State of Colorado, is more efficient and economical than the manner suggested by the OSMRE, without exempting the permittee from current Colorado reclamation requirements. As such, I believe that revising our decision regarding the Helen/Animas Mine permit renewal is not only unnecessary, but unwise. DIH/bjw m:\oss\bjw\dih.memo