2007-08-29_REVISION - M1980047 (2)

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Colony Seale Od Project Coloraao MLRB Perrrrt M~90~0~7 Rea Aug 2: 2.',C' 2006 Anucled Area Status Sumn+ary~ and Requ=st for Reauaion m Ar!tland Acrtlago these are Included in above described 281 aces of lands reclaimed during 1982-1984 along with other areas for which significantiy greater sde preparation work was requred, Thus by the end of 1984, of the original 1.127 disturbed acres, about 391 acres ~.vere m a condition that the process of removing tnese aeas from the affected area imentdry could have been started. As described above. 110 acres df the vrera finished areas such as rock cull and rock or talus slope faces. and 281 acres of were reveyetated areas. `Plith the comp:elon o` Middle Fork Dam and Reservoir in 1984. and subsequent completion m ?986 of reclamation of the disturbed areas above the dam. an adddional 70 acres had entered the "reclaimed" category, bnnginy the total acreage that coda began the process of removal from the affected area inventory by reclamation tc 461 acres as of the and of 1986 (t 10 acres fnshed 351 acres reclaimedl. Finally, 4 acres in the Switchyard Fill (Area t8A) were revegelateU m 1989, Cnngirg the total acreage that could beam the release process to 465 acres j110 acres fin shed 355 arses rec!aimedi Because so;ne of the acreage reclaimed by 1989 a s~so included in areas for which a clarification of permanent post•min~ng land use ~s now bung requested, there is a potential for double counting Further, not all of the land that could have qualified for release is being requested for release. For example, as discussed ~n more dated in the "area-by-area" descriptions to follow, 1 acrd of the 70 recleaned acres in Area 7 tUpper Middle Fork) has been invaded by two weed species, regwnng adddlonat culhvation effort and praclud~ng release at Ihs time. In add,hon. oared on advice presented by DRMS stall regarding the consequencss df haviny td do any maintenance work on facilities ~n reclaimed and released lands, ExxonMobil is not seeking release on another 24 acres of lands wh,ch would otherwise quality as redalmed but are still needed for use for water aipelmes. power poles or other uses A reconciliation to the or.gina! 1.127 acres of affected land in the 1982 ISP Amendment describing areas considered reclaimed, areas being clarified as to post-mining land use. and areas remaining as affected acreage is presented In Table 1 The total acreage for which release is sought Is 604 acres, 229 by land use ctanfication, and 375 by having achieved reclamation per the standards described in the permit. This leaves 523 acres of the original 1.127 acres of affected area When the 4 acres of land affected since 1982 are added, the resulting total affected acreage remainng will be 527 acres, All areas for wnicn re ease ifi oemg requested Gased or. successfw completion of rer.!amauon have been recla;med in accordance with the approved reclamation plan as described in Exhibit E of the original March 1980 permit application and subsequent amendments. For reference, excerpts of relevant sections of Exhibit E from the original March 1980 permit application and Appendix D•1 from the 1962 Interim Site Plan amerdmenl application are presented in Appendix 8. Ir. general. the excerpts are bmded to text passages relevant to the areas be,ng requested for release. For example. since no change to the status of the majority of the Plant Sde ;Area 18) or the LaSal Laydown site (Area 16B) are requested. pomons of Exh,od E that deal ~.vilh these areas era not included in the excerpts prov,ded herewith m Appendix B The Appendix D-1 excerpt from the 1982 ISP presents additional details regarding specal surface preparation and seeding techniques developed by Colony wah the assistance of venous high altitude?steep slope reGamauon specialists in 1982 While the basic steps involved in the reclamation process are presented ~n the above described excerpts from the permit and amendment applications and specified seed mixes are described elsewhere in the reclamation plan and subsequent technical revisions and amendments, Colony also applied several other advanced tecnn,yues to improve the chances for vegetation successfully taking root n some of these more difficult applications vUhile not specifically required in the reclamation plan. those ar!r:~nn~,a ef':)ris included but were not !imded to the tnllowing: • ~...r hay used as mulch Colony used only select hay Irom the Upper Colorado Envtronmantal plant Canter (UCEPC, Meeker) or from farmers who had certified 5elds in order to mlrnmae tre nvas,on of unwanted species • C:aony used custom developed seed mixes including shrubs, fortis and special cultivars also ~ri"wined from UCEPC