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I{ • Letter to Joseph de Raismes 6 Mav 3. 1995 3.1.10 of the Mineral Rules and Regulations: In those areas where revegetation is part of ttie Reclamation Plan, land shall be revegetated in such a way a:: to establish a diverse, effective, and long-lasting vegetative cover that is capable of self-regeneration without continued dependence on irrigation, soil amendments or fertilizer, and that is at Zeast equal in extent of cover to the natural vegetation of the surrounding area. In order to meet this performance standard, the operator may be required to incorporate fertilizer or other soil amendments, re-seed as necessary or inter-seed, and to essentially take whatever steps are appropriate under the Mined Land Reclamation Act in order to establish a viable stand of grass. The impression left'by your list of concerns is that you may believe that the reclamation taking place at the site is a one-time effort, and that if the effort fails or is only partially successful, there will be no recourse. Please be assured that this is not the case. The Division i:a committed to requiring implementation of a revegetation plan will provide for the greatest probability of success in plant estak~lishment and vegetation development, then following-up the revegetation effort through observation of the degree of success or failure and implementing any necessary corrective measures. The Division is not going to prohibit the operator from implementing a :spring seeding because such a seeding does have potential, and because the operator accepts all of the risk and expense that failure or :success of the seeding program may entail. Item number 6 of your list of concerns states that t:he operator's reclamation activities have pushed soil and concrete rubble into the riparian zone of Coal Creek. No such activities werfa occurring as of the Division's April 14, 1995 inspection of the ~;ite, nor were any activities anticipated in the riparian zone a~, part of the current reclamation project. The only work required anywhere near the riparian corridor was some back-dragging and smoothing of some small piles of gravely material, and light ripping <<nd seeding of areas barren of vegetation. The Division investigated the allegation that fill is being placed in the riparian area during the April 27, 1995 site inspection, and preliminarily dcetermined that the operator had not pushed or otherwise placed material into the stream bed. This determination may be modified pending review of a video tape taken by Jim Schmidt of the City of Boulder Open Space. Also in item number 6 of your list of concerns, it is stated that the operator's reclamation activities are interfering with floodplains and wetlands. This Division does not is:aue floodplain permits, however, there are no activities in the current reclamation project that would obstruct the passage of flood waters, and the extractive nature of gravel mining would, in fact, trend to reduce downstream peak flows during a flood. By the same token, this