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PROPOSED DECISION
<br />In accordance with Rule 3.03 of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land
<br />Reclamation Board for Coal Mining, this document constitutes written notification of the
<br />Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (Division) decision to approve a Phase 1
<br />bond release (SL-02) at the New Elk Mine (permit #C-81-012) permitted and operated
<br />by New Elk Coal Company, LLC. (NECC). The lands that are the subject of this bond
<br />release request are contained within the current 900 acre permit boundary and are
<br />more precisely located in the immediate disturbed facility area of about 140 acres
<br />adjacent to the Purgatoire River and south of Highway 12 in the S1/2 of Sections 21
<br />and 22, T33S, R68W of the 6`h principle meridian.
<br />BACKGROUND
<br />The New Elk Mine is located approximately 24 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado.
<br />Highway 12 bisects the permit area. Previously known as the Allen Mine, it has been in
<br />existence since 1951 and was operated under an interim permit issued by the Colorado
<br />Mined Land Reclamation Division (the "Division") on January 25, 1978, pursuant to the
<br />Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act.
<br />The New Elk mine permit has been transferred on three occasions, Permit rights were
<br />transferred from CF&I Steel Corporation to Wyoming Fuel Company on January 31,
<br />1984. Permit rights were transferred from Wyoming Fuel Company to Basin
<br />Resources, Inc. (BRI) on March 29, 1993. Finally, permit rights were transferred from
<br />BRI to Picketwire Processing, LLC on April 27, 1997.
<br />Of the 3,585 acres originally permitted at the New Elk Mine, 155 acres were disturbed
<br />for working areas and facilities. Permit Revision #1 added 120 acres to the permit area,
<br />of which 36 acres were disturbed by new, proposed surface facilities. The resulting
<br />permit area encompassed 3,705 acres with 191 acres of proposed surface disturbance.
<br />Actual disturbed acreage is about 140 acres. The existing operation at the time of
<br />original permitting consisted of several benches used for storage, office building, shop
<br />buildings, railroad tracks, 2 portals, conveyors, coal silos, substations, fans, air shafts, a
<br />water tank, a parking lot, four sediment ponds, ditches, culverts, roads, and a refuse
<br />disposal area. Surface facilities added as a result of permitting actions included a
<br />refuse disposal valley fill and sediment pond north of Highway 12, two new topsoil
<br />stockpiles, coal stockpiles, conveyors, and a preparation plant and thickener tank.
<br />Presently, the only activities permitted at the New Elk facility are coal processing and
<br />loadout operations. Further coal production is not planned at the New Elk mine. During
<br />active mining the workings progressed mainly to the south and east. Coal was mined
<br />by both continuous miners and longwall mining methods. Only one seam, the Allen
<br />seam, was mined.
<br />A Refuse Disposal Area (RDA) was constructed north of Highway 12 as a valley fill.
<br />Currently, coal is not being processed at the New Elk mine due to the cessation of
<br />operations at the Lorencito Canyon mine. During past processing operations, coal
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