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<br />Letter to Chris Freeman 2 April 18 2000 <br />reclamation cost estimate. The total direct cost for shrub establishment in the lay down area is <br />$14,710.96. <br />The cost for revegetation of the remaining 9.2 acres in the lay down area is based on the seed mix <br />from Table 8 in the approved revegetation plan and the unit cost of $945.94 per acre as calculated <br />on the estimating sheet for task #19 from the Division's 6/10/99 reclamation cost estimate. <br />Estimated costs for this revegetation job must also include a contingency for presumed Failure and <br />reseeding of 50 percent of the 9.2 acre azea. This is in accordance with the basis and assumptions <br />for the Division's 6/10/99 reclamation cost estimate. The total direct cost for revegetation of the 9.2 <br />acre portion of the lay down area is ($945.94/ac. x 9.2 ac.) + ($945.94/ac. x 4.6 ac.) _ $13,053.97. <br />Since the bond amount must be adjusted as a result of the technical revision TR-002 approval, the <br />Division will further require supplementation of the bond for abandonment of the replacement <br />monitoring we1120-4B. This replacement well brings the total number of monitoring wells at the site to <br />25, whereas the current bond covers abandonment of 24 wells. The unit cost for monitoring well <br />abandonment from the estimating sheet for task #22 of the Division's 6/10/99 reclamation cost estimate <br />is $1,827.00 per well. <br />The Division has prepazed two new reclamation cost summary forms, which are attached to this letter. <br />The first summary form includes the reclamation costs for the current approved disturbance at the <br />Yankee Gulch Project plus the cost for reclamation of the lay down azea and abandonment of <br />monitoring well 20-4B. The estimated costs summarized in this form total $3,080,651.00. Recently <br />enacted Division policy requires that for mines on public land, where the land management agency will <br />hold the bulk of the bond, the Division must hold a minimum of 5 percent of the estimated reclamation <br />contract amount. In this case, the Division must hold a minimum of $146,698.00. BLM would hold the <br />remaining $2,933,953.00 plus their $5,000.00 lease bond. <br />The bond amounts discussed in the previous pazagraph provide American Soda with the latitude to <br />construct all surface facilities and appurtenances approved for the Piceance Site, but do not allow <br />drilling of any new solution mining wells or installation of the solution conveyance piping system. The <br />second summary form attached to this letter includes reclamation costs for all permitted surface and <br />subsurface disturbances. The total bond amount required is $7,444,531.00 of which the Division must <br />hold a minimum amount of $354,501.00, and BLM could hold the remaining $7,090,030.00 plus their <br />lease bond. <br />Please review the conditions to approval described in this letter and notify me if there aze any problems <br />or concerns prior to the April 24, 2000 decision date for technical revision TR-002. If you require <br />additional time, a written request for extension of the decision date must be provided. Once a <br />conditional approval letter is issued, American Soda will have 60 days to adjust the bond amount held <br />by the Division and by BLM in accordance with the discussion above. 1t will be at American Soda's <br />discretion as to whether or not [o provide the $3,080,651.00 bond, which prohibits drilling of <br />production wells and installation of solution conveyance piping, or to provide the $7,444,531.00 bond <br />