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The New Horizon Mine 2 primarily produces coal from the Lower Dakota coal seam and utilizes the <br />Upper Dakota coal seam when the seam is thick enough and of sufficient quality. The lower Dakota <br />coal seam at New Horizon Mine 2 ranges in thickness from 4.2 feet to 6.9 feet and is 99 feet above <br />the top of the Buno Canyon Formation. The coal dips 4.S° S W along a strike of N 4S° W. <br />WFC has aself--bond in place for the reclamation of the New Horizon Mine in the amount of <br />$2,500,000.00. This request pertains to a reduction in the bond liability only and no release of any <br />money is proposed. The specific azea that the bond release applies is numerous well and exploration <br />hole locations throughout the Mine 1 and Mine 2 areas. The total permit azea for both Mine 1 and <br />Mine 2 encompasses approximately 922.16 acres. The number of acres reclaimed during the well <br />abandonment is not significant. Each well covers a reclaimed area of less than 0.5 sq ft. In terms of <br />acres, they can be perceived as negligible. The locations of the reclaimed water monitoring wells and <br />exploration holes subject to the bond release request aze shown on the attached Figure 1. <br />An application for bond release was received by the Division on September 22, 2006. The application <br />was deemed complete on Mazch 16, 2007, after the Division received proof of publication of the <br />applicant's public notice. WFC published notice of the bond release application in San Miguel Basin <br />Forum once weekly for four consecutive weeks, beginning November 2, 2006. WFC published notice <br />of an amendment to the bond release application in San Miguel Basin Forum once weekly for four <br />consecutive weeks, beginning February 8, 2007. The amendment added three additional groundwater <br />monitoring wells and 27 exploration holes to the application for Phase 1, 2, and 3 bond liability release. <br />WFC also notified land owners within and adjacent to the mine permit azea, and other interested parties <br />of the application for bond release, as required by Rule 3.03.2(1). <br />,- <br />No comments, written objections, or requests for an informal conference regazding the bond release <br />application were received by the Division. <br />The Division scheduled and conducted a bond release inspection on May 10, 2007. The site inspection <br />was conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Mr. Mike Boulay of the Division and Mr. Tom Fry <br />Engineering Tech. for WFC attended the inspection. None of the other land owners of record attended <br />the inspection; however, all land owners were notified of the inspection via certified mail. <br />No significant adequacy questions or concerns were raised by the Division during the inspection and <br />there were no sepazate adequacy correspondence letters sent to WFC. <br />