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BOWIE NO. I MINE <br />Permit No. C-81-038 <br />Midterm Review <br />This is the midterm review findings document for the Bowie No. t Mine. The midterm review is required under <br />Rule 2.08.3 to be performed not later than the middle of each five year permit term. Through this review, the <br />Division can require reasonable modifications to the permit in order that the permit application complies with <br />the regulations. Rule 3.02.2(4) requires that the amount of the reclamation liability bond be reviewed during the <br />midterm and adjusted, if necessary. <br />This findings document is divided into four sections. Section I describes the history of the mine. An account of <br />the permitting and enforcement actions, including permit revisions, stipulations and enforcement actions is <br />contained in Section Q. The reclamation liability bond information is in Section III. The final section contains <br />specific questions or comments that arose in the review of the permit application. <br />Section I -Mine History <br />The Bowie No. 1 Mine is an existing underground mine that has been in operation since 1975. The mine was <br />originally called the Orchard Valley Mine and the original applicant was Colorado Westmoreland, Inc. (CWI). <br />The Orchard Valley Mine (Bowie No. 1) permit application was originally submitted on September 30, 1977, <br />and was determined to be complete on October 7, 1977. The permit application was approved by the Mined <br />Land Reclamation Board under the interim program on April 27, 1978. A modified permit application to <br />comply with the proposed Colorado Permanent Regulatory Program was submitted on June 18, 1979, and <br />revised on February 27, 1981. The Division then published its proposed decision approving the application with <br />25 stipulations on August 20, 1981. The Permanent Program Permit No. C-038-81 was issued on September 24, <br />1981. <br />A permit revision application to incorporate 480 acres into the permit area of Permit No. C-81-038 was <br />submitted to the Division on November l8, 1982, and was determined to be complete on November 26, 1982. <br />CWI's application included information from the adjacent Orchard Valley Permit C-81-038 as well as the permit <br />revision area. The Division published its proposed decision to approve the permit revision with eight <br />stipulations on March 21, 1983. Permit No. C-038-083, which superseded Permit No. C-81-038, was issued by <br />the Division on April 20, 1983. <br />On August 29, 1984, Colorado Westmoreland Inc. submitted a permit revision to their existing Permit No. <br />C-83-038. The permit revision incorporated an additional 5,719.7 acres of adjacent federal coal (Lease <br />C-37210) into the mine permit area. C WI planned to mine this coal by extending the existing mine workings <br />north and west into these areas. <br />On June I, 1986, the Orchard Valley Mine (Bowie No. 1) experienced a mine fire that necessitated the closure <br />of the mine portals. Permit Revision No. 2 was submitted August 18, 1986, proposing the construction of a <br />temporary West Mine portal and haul road. The West Mine portal was used to export coal from the mine until <br />