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QUEEN'S CANYON QUAP.RY <br />Following are responses to the items on page two of the inspection report <br />dated November 21, 1984. <br />OBSERVATIONS OF IMPORTANCE: <br />ITEM 1.) THIS SITE IS LOCATED ON A STEEP FACED SLOPE. THE AREA ABOVE <br />THE EXISTING OPERATION HAS BEEN RECLAIMED. MARK HEIFNER, CONSULTANT FOR <br />CASTLE CONCRETE, WAS PRESENT. <br />RESPONSE: Only the northern portion of Tract Band the lower <br />portions of Tract D occur on steep sloped areas. The remainder of the <br />operation is on areas with slopes that vary from about 5:1 to 3:1. <br />Only the very top of the quarry area has been totally reclaimed <br />(released from bond). Much of the remainder of the area has been graded <br />and/or seeded and is in progress of being fully reclaimed. <br />ITEM 2.) THE STEEP SLOPES NO DOUBT PRESENT A RECLAMATION PROBLEM. <br />MINIMAL TOPSOIL IS PRESENT, THE SITE IS NEARLY ALL ROCK OUTCROP. THE <br />OPERATOR STATED THAT MOST SLOPES ARE 2H:1V. IT APPEARED TO THE <br />INSPECTORS THAT SEVERAL SLOPE AREAS FTERE STEEPER. FINAL RECLAMATION OF <br />THE STEEP SLOPE AREA WILL OCCUR AFTER OPERATIONS TERMINATE, WITHIN 12 TO <br />18 MONTHS. THE OPERATOR STATED THAT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THIS AREA WILL BE <br />SOLD FOR DEVELOPMENT. <br />RESPONSE: It is true that the steeply sloped areas are a <br />reclamation problem. Soil is deficient or absent. However, the area is <br />not "nearly all rock outcrop." There is a great abundance of fines that <br />are useful for revegetation and are, in many respects, not all that <br />different in texture from those found on areas that have already been <br />reclaimed and released from bond. In fact, in places the depth and <br />quantity of fine material is a problem in that there is much material <br />that must be shifted about to produce an adequate reclamation <br />environment. <br />The slope of the steepest areas (northern part of Tract B) ranges <br />from 2.112:1.000 to 1.78:1.00 with an average slope as measured on four <br />lines of 1.911:1.000. These measurements were taken from the latest map <br />which was prepared in late 1983 for the High Pointe Centre Project. Of <br />course, these are average figures over horizontal distances of 175 to 400 <br />feet. On a smaller scale, the slope ranges from level to vertical. It <br />all depends upon what one measures. On the average though it is only <br />slightly steeper than 2:1. We agree that it looks a lot steeper than <br />that, but in fact it isn't. The original, pre-mining slope on this site <br />was about 2.5:1. So the mining has increased the steepness of the area <br />only a small amount. Nevertheless, the reclamation of the area is a <br />problem of considerable but not insurmountable dimensions. Considering <br />the amount of fines on the site and the ability of those fines to grow <br />vegetation, given enough time, the reclamation problem is primarily one <br />of earthmoving into a suitable configuration. <br />4 <br />