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.~ United States Department of the Interior IN REPLY REFERT6. Ms. Ann Tatum 129 North Commercial Street Trinidad, Colorado 81082 Dear Ms. Tatum: OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING Reclamation and Enforcement P.O. Box 46667 Denver, Colorado 80301-6667 February 5, 2007 RECEIVED FE8 0 7 2001 Division of Reclamation, Mining and SafeM r l ~,/ti 11, ,~~F This is to advise you that the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) received your written statements dated January 19, 26, and 31, 2007. In addition, you have discussed your concerns with me by telephone on several occasions between January 19 and February 1. Your statement dated 7anuary 19 raised three concerns: 1.) You objected to the release of bonds related to the Golden Eagle MineBasin/LVestmoreland Coal Company, 2.) You requested a performance bond equal to or greater than your judgment of $622,000, and 3.) You cited a failure to issue an NOV by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DBMS). Your statement dated January 26, 2007, recapped the issues surrounding the subsidence matter. You also noted that DMRS has not adopted a regulation consistent with 30 CFR 817.121(c)(5) requiring the performance bond to be adjusted to reflect subsidence damage. You also state that DBMS must issue a NOV in order to comply with State regulations. In our conversations by telephone, we discussed how OSM might respond to your concerns. In your letter dated January 31, 2007, you state that aten-day notice is not appropriate and that direct Federal enforcement is required. The violation you allege is Colorado regulation 4.20.3(2)(b)(i) and (ii) requiring the prompt repair or compensation of structures damaged by subsidence caused by underground mining. W e will be issuing aten-day notice to DMRS regazding the violation you allege. It is OSM policy, under Directive 1NE-35-3, to issue ten-day notices in States with cooperative agreements to regulate Federal lands. We will provide you a copy of the ten-day notice for your information. Upon final examination of the DMRS's response to the ten-day notice, you will be informed of the results. T AMERICA