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-l o- <br />OPERATIONS AND RECLAMATION PLAN <br />The Martinez Strip is located approximately 22 miles southwest of Pagosa Springs, <br />Colorado, along State Highway 151. The mine is currently operating under Permit <br />No. 78-252 issued by the Mined Land Reclamation Board. The Martinez Mine is a <br />surface mining operation. Both mineral and surface ownership are private. <br />Of the 140 acres proposed to be permitted, only 70 acres uri11 actually be mined. <br />Surface facilities for the operation consist of an office, shop, parts trailer, <br />scales, coal preparation laboratory, fuel tanks, truck turnaround, explosive <br />storage area, coal crusher, and drainage control system, There is one major road <br />on the site which serves as a combination access/haul road. This road intersects <br />Highway 151 and joins the truck turnaround area. additionally, there are three <br />light use roads at the site. <br />Coal removal operations involve complete extraction on the East side and partial <br />extration in the Barren Ridge arm. Mining operations begin by first removing <br />all woody vegetation [:ith bulldozers. Topsoil and subsoil are then windrowed <br />with a bulldozer. Soil material is then loaded into haul trucks and transported <br />to toosoil stockpile areas or respread on regraded areas. Once all vegetation <br />and soil material has been removed, the overburden is benched and leveled by <br />bulldozers. Following this operation, the overburden is then drilled and blasted. <br />The shot overburden is then loaded into trucks and hauled to the adjacent spoil <br />areas. <br />After the overburden is removed and the "A" coal seam is ex~sed, the coal is removed. <br />The croal removal operation requires t[ro steps. First, a motor grader is used to <br />clean the coal. Once the coal is cleaned, it is ripped with a track-type ripper <br />dozer. The loose coal is then loaded into trucks and hauled to the coal crushing <br />area, The above sequence describing overburden removal is repeated twice more, <br />thus effectively removing a1Z three coal seams. <br />Following removal of the coal resource, the area is backfiZled and graded. The <br />final Zand form will resemble a mesa with a1Z outslopes stabilized. AZI highwalls <br />and spoil piles will be eliminated during back filling and yrading operations. <br />Following final backfilling'and grading operations, the area is retopsoiled. The <br />redistributed toosoil is then tested for fertilization requirements and other soil <br />amendments as required. <br />Per the Landowner's request, the applicant is returning the Eastern mesa top to a <br />dryland pasture and the Western area to rangeland. The applicant has developed <br />a seed mix ;:hick is suitable for this purpose. The seed mix contains a good mir. <br />of species that are drought-resistant and should establish a good self-sustaining <br />stand of vegetation. The outslopes will be returned to a rangeland land use <br />during reclamation. Revegetation will reduce erosion and provide additional <br />forage For livestock and wildlife. <br />The landoerner has requested that certain structures remain on-site after mining <br />operations are completed. Specifically, the shop and truck turnaround wi 11 be <br />left on-site. A12 other structures will be removed and the area returned to a <br />stable, productive state to be utilized by tl[e lando[rner. <br />