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fmdings that the original stream channel will be reconstructed at the completion of mining, that <br />the water quantity and quality from the stream section within 100 feet of the surface coal mining <br />operations will not be adversely affected during and after mining, and that appropriate riparian <br />vegetation will be reestablished. <br />Permit Revision 5 requires a mine plan approval from the US Office of Surface Mining and <br />Reclamation, to cover activities in the Elk Creek tract. This operation will ramp down from the <br />floor of the Elk Creek Canyon into the D-seam. Development mining was akeady approved; <br />longwall mining into the Ells Creek tract will be approved by this revision and by the federal <br />mine plan approval. <br />It is anticipated that active mining operations will continue for at least 21 yeazs. Reclamation <br />operations will begin immediately following the decision to close the mine. The pemut area was <br />increased to accommodate the Elk Creek lease, but no mine plan was proposed or approved. <br />This is accomplished with PR-O5. <br />As the mine has been in operation since 1902, much of the disturbed area associated with the <br />mine was affected prior to the effective date of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act <br />of 1977 and the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act. Baseline environmental factors <br />were not measured, and no topsoil was salvaged prior to previous disturbance. Disturbances <br />which have been conducted since the effective date of the Act have been permitted and <br />conducted incompliance with the Act and Regulations. These activities include the Hubbazd <br />Creek Ventilation Fan No. 2 facility, the methane degas wells, and the Sanborn Creek Tract. All <br />other azeas of disturbance at the mine occurred prior to the effective date of the Act. <br />All surfaces will be returned to the approximate original contour (AOC) with two exceptions. <br />The Beaz Creek and Hubbazd Creek ventilation facilities will be backfilled only to the extent <br />practical, given the fact that these small facilities azeas aze pre-existing and cut into steep slopes. <br />A variance from AOC has been granted in accordance with the backfilling and grading <br />provisions of the Regulations (see Section VII of this document). Permanent waste piles will be <br />blended into the surrounding topography. The main mine access road will be left in place <br />following mining in order to provide access to the Somerset Cemetery and Elk Creek. The <br />powerline access road and powerline corridor will be reclaimed. <br />Following grading, all pre-law disturbed azeas in the Elk Creek yazd will have surface material <br />sampled to determine if it will be suitable for direct revegetation. The Sanborn Creek Tract <br />disturbance will be sampled in a similaz fashion. If it is found that the surface material is not <br />suitable, the azea will be topdressed with suitable materials obtained from excavation for <br />reestablishment of the Elk Creek drainage from a borrow azea neaz the backfilled Elk Creek <br />access portals or from topsoil stockpiles. Suitable plant growth medium will be spread to a <br />thickness of six inches. The area will then be seeded with the approved seed mixture and <br />mulched at the rate of 4,000 pounds of straw per acre. Straw will be crimped along the contour. <br />Somerset Mining Company, now Oxbow Mining, LLC., conducted a detailed soil survey and <br />12 <br />