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~; <br />Mr. Michael Long <br />July 16, 1996 <br />Page 3 <br />refuse pile to the bench. Indeed, construction of the ramp was necessary to access the bench <br />for topsoil and cover material recovery. See Letter from Christine Johnston to David Berry at <br />1 (May 10, 1996). That ramp, as it turns out, covered a small pocket of cover material less <br />than 18" deep. The Division expressed concern over the covered area of cover material, and <br />Mountain Coal immediately abated the Division's concern by removing the cover material. <br />The mixing of some previously distributed cover material and refuse was expressly <br />contemplated by the Division in its approval of Technical Revision No. 78. There is, <br />furthermore, nothing inconsistent with the practice and the subsoil handling practices at <br />Section 4.06 of the Division regulations. The regulations recognize that practical <br />considerations can prevent complete recovery of the soil resource. See, e.g., Division <br />Reputations §§ 4.06.2(2)(a); 4.06.2(3); 4.06.2(5); See also Mine Fermit at 2.O:i.S. The <br />mine's independent contractor felt that he had recovered all the known areas of cover material <br />that could reasonably be recovered. The contractor's mistaken belief that this small area of <br />subsoil was too thin to be recovered should not form the basis of an NOV. <br />For the reasons set forth in this letter, Mountain Coal Company requests that NOV C-96-013 be <br />vacated. <br />Sincerely, <br />~~ ~ ~ <br />Phil G. Schmidt <br />cc: David Berry, CDMG <br />