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~II ~I~II~~I~~~~~ ~I~ sss United States Department of the Interior OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING Reclamation and Enforcement Suite 1200 505 Marquette Avenue N.W. Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 APR2g1994 Certified Return Receipt No. P 079 749 529 Mr. Michael B. Long, Director Division of Minerals and Geology Department of Natural Resources 215 Centennial Building 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 rauE~ AMERICA ~>= ~ ^ IN REPLY REFER TO: ~ECFIVEf? F{' ? ~ i99~ ~!'.' r.. Re: Ten-Day Notice (TDN) No. 91-02-116-05, Fruita Mines, American Shield Coal Company Dear Mr. Long: The Albuquerque Field Office (AFO) has completed an analysis of your letter of March 30, 1994, regarding the highwall issue at the Fruita Mine. AFO is rejecting your arguments that the highwall in question is exempt from the requirements for complete elimination. AFO does not consider this site eligible for the exemption applicable to continuously mined areas at underground mining operations. AFO's rationale for this decision is based on the preamble to the Final Rule approving the amendment which states "unless an underground mining operation began prior to August 3, 1977, and continued operations into permanent program approval or qualified as a remining operation, the operator is required to completely eliminate the highwall" (59 FR 2743). Mining operations at this mine ceased in mid-1980. The Colorado regulatory program was approved on December 15, 1980. The variance approved on January 19, 1994, as an exception to complete highwall elimination modifies the approved permanent program. Because mining operations did not continue into the permanent program, this site is not eligible for the exemption. Accordingly, this site is subject to the initial program. Complete highwall elimination and restoration of the site to its approximate original contour are mandatory under the initial program.