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The Meeker Mines consist of three areas: Northern No. 1 Mine (7.1 acres of reclaimed area) Reinau Mine (5.0 acres) Refuse Area (4.0 acres) The Meeker permit contains a vegetative cover success standard of 70$. In order for vegetation to be considered successful (in terms of cover), it must be demonstrated that cover on the reclaimed area is not less than 90$ of the cover standard with 90$ statistical confidence (Rule 4.15.8(3)(a)). Vegetative cover is the parameter used by DMG to determine "successful establishment of vegetation", as mentioned in Rule 3.03.1(2)(b), in regard to Phase II bond release. Progress toward meeting other vegetation success standards is considered although, it is not necessary to meet those standards in order for Phase II bond to be released. Matt Hayes collected cover data on the three areas listed above, although only the portion of the Northern No. 1 Mine west of the access road was sampled. DMG collected data on the Norther Mine (both sides of the road) and the Reinau Mine. Due to time Constraints, DMG did not collect data at the refuse area and did not sample as many transects as Mr. Hayes. Because of the small acreage and the apparent similarity of the vegetation on the three reclaimed areas, DMG advised Mr. Hayes (prior to sampling) to combine the data from the three areas and treat them as one area. A summary of the data is presented below. Hayes DMG Mean Cover 61.2$ 53.5$ Std. Deviation 9.976 11.988 No. Samples 17 8 Only 1.2$ of the cover was attributed to annuals. As documented in the Enron bond release application, the mean cover value (in Hayes' data) is at least 90$ of the 70$ cover success standard with 90$ statistical confidence. The DMG data is not. However, there are several reasons for agreeing with Enron's conclusion that the cover standard has been met. 1. A comparison of the two data sets with a t-test to determine if the two means are the same (as in Danie1,1978) indicates that the two means are the same, with a p value between .10 and .20. Without a larger probability of error, I have no reason to question the validity of Hayes' data.