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STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866-3567 <br />FAX: (303) 832-8106 <br />January 29, 2004 <br />ILA <br />COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF <br />Ivt I N S RA L S <br />GEOLOGY <br />RECLANATION•N IN ING <br />SAFETY•SCIENCE <br />Bill Owens <br />Roy A. Karo, Reclamation Manager covemor <br />Seneca COaI Company ~ Greg E. Watcher <br />P.O..BOX 670 Executive Director <br />Hayden, Colorado 81639 Ronald w. caltany <br />' Division Director <br />RE: Seneca II-W Mine (Permit C-1982-057) Natural Resource Trustee <br />TR-47 (Aspen Study Plan) Adequacy Responses <br />Dear Mr. Karo: <br />The Division has reviewed your submittal dated January 23, 2004, which was in response <br />to our preliminary adequacy review letter of January 7, 2004. <br />SCC did not amend narrative sections on pages 23 and 23a, or the Planting List 3 <br />as the Division had requested. However, the operator did appropriately amend <br />Section 8.0 of Appendix 22-3 to provide additional requested detail regarding the <br />"Mother Plant Technique" for aspen establishment. Commitments in the Appendix <br />as amended are sufficiently detailed and enforceable, and as such, the Division's <br />concerns regarding the aspen mother plant technique have been adequately <br />addressed. Item Resolved. <br />2. An erroneous date was corrected as requested. Item Resolved. <br />3. Additional details were requested by the Division regarding soil thickness, shrub <br />seeding and planting, and source and characteristics of sapling transplants, etc. <br />Most of the requested detail was provided in the operator's response and tha <br />amended narrative. However, we do request additional information regarding <br />sapling source and selection criteria: The currently approved study plan in Section <br />3.0 contains the following statement: <br />Trees to be transp/anted will be selected from along the edges of <br />successfully suckering c/ones on Seneca property. Aspen suckers growing <br />at the edges of existing clones are mare likely to have smaller, more <br />independent roots than those that arise along o/der connecting rods <br />between large trees. Transplant candidates will be 4-6 it, in height, without <br />forks, disease, or damage that might affect survival. <br />Please amend the plan to provide detail on characteristics of suitable transplants, <br />similar to that provided in the original plan. <br />Also, the original plan anticipated that transplants would be obtained from aspen <br />stands within approved disturbed areas at Seneca II-W, in the path of mine advance. <br />However, due to a paucity of suitable saplings in these stands, it is likely that <br />saplings will be obtained from elsewhere within the permit area or other Seneca <br />Office of - Office of Geolouical Surve <br />Mined Land Reclamation Active and Inactive Mines B Y <br />