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E Coal Company June 25, 2007 Xcel Energy 1225 17th Street, Room 400 Denver, Colorado 80202-5533 RE: Seneca II Mine Pxe-Law Area Bond Release Request To Whom It May Concern; Seneca Coal Com Seneca Coal Company, 37796 Routt County Road 53, P.O. Box 670, Hayden, Colorado 81639, (CDMG Permit No. C-80-005, approved September 23, 1981) is requesting release of bond liability on 259.1 reclaimed acres of Pre-Law area currently within the pertnit boundary at the Seneca II Mine. Surety bonds in the amount of $1,491,736 axe currently in place of which $1,183,794 is being requested for release The approved reclamation plan can be reviewed in its entirety in the Seneca II Mine Permit Application Package located in the Hayden Public Library, Hayden, Colorado. All affected lands within Seneca II Mine fall within pre-law, interim program and permanent program categories. The regulatory programs axe identified as follows: • • Mined prior to August 3. 1977. (Pre-Law) • Mined and reclaimed after August 3, 1977 and prior to May 3, 1978. • Mined and reclaimed after May 3, 1978 and prior to the approval of the applicable regulatory program or issuance of the permanent prograzn permit (September 23, 1981). (Interim Program) • Mined and reclaimed after September 23, 1981. (Permanent Prograzn) For the purposes of this Bond Release request, only the lands mined prior to August 3, 1977 (Pre-Law) aze included. The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety previously released Phase I liability on the adjacent lands permitted under the SMCRA permanent program. The following is a brief summary of the Pxe-Law area reclamation that was completed. Backfilling and grading was conducted beginning in 1972 and was completed prior to August 3, 1977. The majority of the grading work was performed with dozers and motor graders. In some cases grading was done with scrapers and draglines. All azeas affected by the surface mining operations, eacept as specifically exempted by the CDMG, were regraded on a timely basis to a stable configuration that conformed with the approved reclamation plan and posttnining land use (livestock grazing and wildlife habitat). For the most part, grading was done along contotu to also minimive erosion. Any time operations were conducted on steep slopes that could present safety concerns to the operators, then grading was done in a direction other than parallel to contour. The Seneca II Mine is located approximately nine (9) miles southeast of Hayden, Colorado. The specific area (259.1 acres) to which this bond release request applies is included within the Permit Area located as follows: • Seneca Coal Company • P.O. Box 670 • Hayden, Colorado 81839 Telephone (970) 276-5200 • FAX (970) 276-5222