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committed to reducing the knob areas from 7450 to 7375 elevation. In addition, we would raise other areas that were lower in elevation. In order to accomplish this, over 3 million yards of rehandle material will be moved to meet the PMT design. This material will not be coming from our normal lruck/shovel excavation plans, but rather from the excess spoil areas noted by CDMG Yes, new features have been added to the PMT. For instance the knob and saddle located north of the Wesl Pit Ditch was not a feature m the approved PMT. However, these features are more than volumetrics in reclamation planning. These features bring forth a more stable dralnageway design by reducing slope length, and a much needed diversity in Colowyo's PMT. The proposed landforms create opportunity for diversity in the vegetation community, wildlife habitat, and overall blending in to the surcound~ng area. In addition, the -knob and saddle" features are very common in the surcoundmg area and create a distlnction not found in our previous reclamation efforts. (See enclosed map "Similar Topogrephic Features in the Surcounding Area" Figure F Our most recent addition to the design was to add the Taylor Ditch, a new drainage located north of West Pit Ditch. This was suggested by Byron Walker and noted as an added feature that we feel compliments the plan. Colowyo has tried to look at every possible perspective of this design to determine how closely the design resemble the pre-mining features. As mentioned above these features were measured in detail through the model in order to give us a `measuring stick" for comparison and design performance. In each and every case the PMT very closely resembles the pre-mining conditions. See the following Figures: "Pre and Post-mining Slope Aspect Distribution", Figure D; "Pre and Post-mining Slope Distribution" Figure E; Comment: Item 2 Drainage Pattern Of lesser significance Is the proposed orientation of the West Pit Ditch and the replacement by this feature of two drainages off the reclaimed area to East Taylor Creek in Section 9. Reorientation of the West Pit Ditch to a more southeast to northwest direction twould reduce the steep southern slopes of this drainage) and replacement of a similarly oriented drainage in Section 9 (would generate backfill material for nearby areas of deficient fill) would better approximate preminfng drainage patterns. Resaonse: As you have mentioned, CDMG is concerned with the angle at which the ditch enters into the next lower drainageway (East Taylor Creek). Colowyo has measured these angles to see how the design performs when compared to the pre-mining conditions. Colowyo's design falls within a few degrees of the average confluence angle of all ditches with the PMT. The average overall confluence angle is 75 degrees and the pre-mining confluence angle of Wesl Pit Ditch is 83 degrees. Therefore the postmining design angle of 71 degrees is very close to the preminfng, and within the standard deviation of all confluences. See the following Figures: "West Pit Ditch Confluence Angle Comparison" Figure C; "Pre-mining Confluence Angles" Figure G; "Post-mining Confluence Angles" Figure H CFa t27 TR•56