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<br />I. Procedures for Seeking Bond Release and Summary of the Review Process <br />This document presents the results of the Division's review of Rockcastle <br />Coal Company's request for partial bond release for their Grassy Gap <br />Mine. Rockcastle Coal Company has applied for Bond Release under Rule <br />3.03.2. The Company provided a aratt of the Public Notice to the <br />Division on July 9, 1990. Rockcastle submitted copies of letters to <br />adjoining property owners, surface owners and appropriate governmental <br />entities per Rule 3.03.2(1) on August 3, 1990, The aforementioned public <br />notice was published weekly between July 12, 1990, and August 2, 1990, in <br />the Steamboat Pilot and an affiaavit of publication was submitted to the <br />Division on August 8, 1990 per Rule 3.03.2(1)(b) and (c ). The official <br />request for band release was submitted August 8, 1990. The Division <br />called the application complete on August 14, 1990, per Rule <br />3.03.2(1 )(d ). Supplementary information was received September 14, 1990. <br />The Division performed the bond release inspection of the mine site on <br />September 6 and J, 1990, per Rule 3.03.2(2). Cathy Begej and Harry <br />Ranney, CMLRD, surveyed Pit 4 and Pit 1. Susan McCannon, CMLRD, <br />performed a site-wide inspection with the Office of Surface Mining <br />representatives, Mr. Dennis Byrnes, OSM-Albuquerque and Mr. Robert Inman, <br />OSM-Denver. <br />Mr. Bill Miller of Native Excavating, the operator at the site, responded <br />to questions about the operation. <br />II. Criteria for Bona Release <br />A permittee may request release of the performance bond upon submittal of <br />evidence demonstrating completion of reclamation obligations per Rule <br />3.02.2(4)(d). The Division turther delineated the bona release process <br />to be followed at the Grassy Gap t+line in an Agreement signed June 27, <br />1990, by the Division and Rockcastle Coal Company. <br />In this Agreement, the Division and Rockcastle agreed that the volume of <br />overburden and topsoil material required to fill Pit 4 was approximately <br />585,000 bank cubic yards. Atter completion of reclamation activities, <br />any bona release decision would be based on the following #.'wo factors: <br />1) decrease in volume of Pit 4 and 2) reduction of other liabilities. <br />The volume decrease in Pit 4 would be credited at a rate of $0.83/bcy <br />V). <br />III. Evaluation <br />The Bona Release decision is being bases on movement of overburden and <br />topsoil volumes into Pit 4. Information submitted by the Operator on <br />September 14, 1990 documented that the operator at the site, Native <br />Excavating, has moved 22,197 Cat 637 loads ana 4,312 Terex TS-14 scraper <br />luaus by September 6, 1990, the date of the CMLRD inspection. Rockcastle <br />conservatively estimated that each Cat 631 was moving 21 cubic yards and <br />that each Terex TR-14 was moving 14 cubic yards. This loan count and <br />conversion factor resultea in the movement of 527,345 cubic yards. <br />During the inspection it was apparent that the entire overburden <br />stockpile ana the shop area till had been moves, antl a portion of the <br />topsoil pile had been moved. <br />