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MINING PLAN (changed) <br />portions of the soil will be referred to as "topsoil" and will be considered the growth medium. The <br />lower more alkaline materials will be referred to as subsoil. This distinction will also be used in the <br />Reclamation Plan (Exhibit E). Subsoil will be stripped separate from the topsoil and will primarily <br />be used as a backfill material on the quarry side slopes. <br />In most areas to be mined, the soil is the Curecanti Variant. In Area C the Nunn series is <br />found in small areas dominated by grassland, but these areas are too small to be indicated on the <br />soil map. This latter soil is a fine grained, clay loam and is easily identified -few if any trees grow <br />on the Nunn soils. This soil is not a problem for stripping and stockpiling. In fact, on the western <br />edge of the affected land in Area A there is a large stockpile of this soil that was removed and <br />stockpiled by the previous operator. <br />Most of Area B is covered by the Roygorge series that is probably not salvageable. There <br />can be small pockets of good soil present in areas occupied by this series. As a rule this soil is <br />filled with rocks and is a foot or less to bedrock. Small areas of better soils were found during a <br />reconnaissance of Area B, but they constitute a small percentage of the entire area. <br />Unfortunately, the excellent Nunn clay loam soils constitute a small percentage of all the <br />soils on the site. The rest of the soil is primarily the Curecanti Variant. The problem with the <br />Curecanti Variant for salvage and redistribution is the large proportion of moderate to large rocks <br />present in the soil. Although this soil naturally supports good tree and shrub growth, grass growth <br />is limited. Therefore, simple stripping and replacement of this soil may not result in the kind of <br />vegetation cover needed to produce sufficient grass growth to control erosion. Reliance on trees and <br />shrubs for erosion control in the initial stages of reclamation is often a serious mistake because the <br />cover is insufficient to control both sheet wash and rill/gully formation. <br />To address this problem with the Curecanti Variant and to create a growth medium more <br />suited to good grass growth the rockiness must be reduced. Many of the rocks in this soil would be <br />good for decorative and landscaping purposes. Some of the rock in the soil could probably be used <br />for riprap. Thus, the larger rocks will be removed from these soils as a product. This will be done <br />during the salvage process. <br />Leaving some rock in the soil is beneficial. It encourages more rapid infiltration of <br />moisture, less runoff, and provides some of the textural requirements needed for a return of trees <br />and shrubs to the site. Therefore, most of the smaller rocks will be retained in the soil, as well as a <br />few of the larger rocks. If the rock content can be reduced by 30% to 60% as compared to its <br />natural condition the growth medium should be capable of producing good growth of both grasses <br />and woody materials. <br />Soil stockpiling may not be commonly done on this site. The arrangement of the mining <br />plan will allow much of the soil stripped from one area to be immediately placed on mined out <br />areas. If stockpiling is done it will occur adjacent to lands that are nearly mined out so the soil can <br />be replaced at the earliest possible time. Whenever possible, immediate replacement of soil on <br />mined out areas from new mining areas will be done, as that avoids double handling and greatly <br />reduces the cost of mining and reclamation. In many mining operations, the cost of stockpiling with <br />replacement years later is not a significant cost factor. But a[ this operation, any action that can <br />reduce operational costs will be advantageous to making this operation profitable. <br />Salvage of the soil will probably be done with a dozer. A portion of land will be stripped <br />that will equal the anticipated needs for about two years of mining at a time. Soil stockpiling will <br />place the soil adjacent to the land where it will be used. As stated above, in most cases, soil <br />stockpiling, if done at all, will be short in duration. Wherever possible, stockpiling will not be <br />done. The soil will simply be distributed on land ready for reclamation. Topsoil (the neutral upper <br />layers) will be separated from the lower more alkaline layers (subsoil). The subsoil will either be <br />Table Mountain Quarry -Castle Concrete Company Exhibit D (Amendment 1) Page 5 <br />