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Item 20 of the SUP states that adequate sediment control structures will be maintained. Your plan explains the types and locations of such structures, which are felt to be adequate at this time. This issue will also be monitored by DMG, as discussed above regarding roadway erosion. Exhibit E -Reclamation Plan You included a seed mix provided by the NRCS, but have also stated that you will follow the approved seed mix already existing in the file. i will use the existing seed mix in my estimation of the costs of Phase I. Please clarify if the same existing seed mix will be used for the portions to be revegetated in Phase II. Certain aspects of the NPS-required reclamation plan have been dictated in the SUP, and some of them affect the bond amount. As long as you must comply with the SUP to continue operating there, DMG must ensure that the more stringent standard is enforced and bonded for. Some of the SUP deals with items that are administrative or procedural, which DMG will probably not become involved with. Other items involve physical issues, such as erosion, slopes, topsoil depths, etc„ which DMG will monitor. It would be best if you would commit to the more stringent standards under this application, so that the two plans conform. This will help ensure that double bonding or re-performing a task does not become necessary. Wherever applicable, I have discussed these items below. If you disagree with this reasoning or any of these items, please let me know. For Phase I, your topsoil replacement should be to the minimum depth required by NPS (six inches), and not the four-inch depth you committed to earlier in this application. [f we require and bond for four inches of topsoil replacement, then NPS will probably bond for an extra two inches. This could be viewed as a separate task, but one which, if performed after the first four inches were seeded, could result in an entire second seeding cost. Please clarify if the four-inch topsoil replacement depth is to remain as the reclamation specification for Phase i. Item 21 of the SUP requires that topsoil be salvaged in amounts sufficient to replace asix-inch layer over reclaimed surfaces. DMG can approve the use of suitable fine material (such as fines, granite sands, or subsoil) as part of the "topsoil" to be replaced, but that constituent may not satisfy the NPS. Please clarify if the material to be replaced as growth medium is to consist of topsoil only or if fines or sands will be also used. A bulleted paragraph under item 2l of the SUP states that the powerline will be rerouted or stabilized to allow slope reduction. DMG agrees that this will be required at some time between now and the end of Phase I reclamation. This task is required, since reducing the existing highwall to final gradient will effectively remove the pedestal upon which the pole now sits. Stabilization of the line might only have to include resetting a pole down on the pit floor, however, and not a full realignment of the line. For now, 1 will consider one pole to be reset, in line with the current alignment, as the existing reclamation liability. A similar bullet under item 21 of the SUP requires that noxious weeds be controlled under a plan approved by NPS personnel. If noxious weed control is identified by DMG in the future as being required, you should ensure that the plan you submit is also approved by NPS, simply to streamline that issue. If we require a plan, we will suggest that you consult with a local weed control expert or the county authority in formulating it. We will review it for its adequacy, but we might not actually require proof of its approval by NPS. The SUP also states that a minimum bond amount of $38,500 must be posted, according to a cost estimate performed by NPS. I have not seen that estimate, though I have a copy of an earlier one performed by NPS which indicated a total bond required in the amount of $52,530. 1 will assign cost figures to all of the outstanding tasks associated with Phase 1, as the bond amount to be posted for the reclamation required under your DMG permit. That estimate will be mailed to you separately from this letter. The better your responses to all remaining mining and reclamation questions, the better our bond estimate. It appears as though if, for any reason, the bond amount required to be posted with DMG is less than the amount required by NPS, they may require that you post an additional bond with them. This is beyond ourjurisdiction.