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practices allowed at this site. There is also no combined surface and underground mining operations at the Blue Ribbon Mine. Pursuant to Rule 2.06.5(2), the Division finds that the Blue Ribbon Mine permit application has satisfactorily addressed all of the requirements for permits incorporating variances from Approximate Original Contour Restoration Requirements for Steep Slope Mining. The application detailing responses to all applicable sections of Rule 2.06.5(2) can be found in Appendix D of the permit application. A letter demonstrating approval by the U.S. Forest Service, the surface land owner, can be found on page 17iv of the permit application. The operator has committed to providing appropriate geotechnical analysis and proposed restored slope configurations which achieve a static safety factor of 1.3 pursuant to Rule 4.27.4(1). The stabilization of the slope below the mine bench was done in 1985 in accordance with the technical revision request for mine bench stabilization. The mine bench was backfilled with material obtained from the hillside directly south of the mine bench. Approximately 10,000 cubic yards of material was removed from this site. Exhibit F-2, in the permit application, shows the approximate final contours of both the mine bench and hillside borrow area. The mine bench area backfill was placed on approximately a 15-degree slope from the invert of the drainage ditch on the top of the mine bench. The hillside borrow area was not excavated to a slope greater than 25 degrees. This area was seeded and mulched in 1986. The mine bench stabilization project has been performed in accordance with the approved plans. SECTION V -DECISION TO REQUIRE REVISIONS OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Please respond to the following questions and requests on or before July 28, 1995. 1. Is the legal, financial and compliance information contained in the permit up-to- date? If not, please submit the new information to the Division. 2. In the review of the 1993 Annual Reclamation Report, the Division had identified an error in the 1991 vegetation study. Page 14 of the report states that Intermediate wheatgrass is a cool season bunch grass, when in fact it is a cool season sod former. Blue Ribbon's species diversity standard requires three bunch grasses; however, the seed mix shown on page 11 of the permit includes only two bunch grasses and three sod formers. Given this seed mix, it is doubtful that the site would meet the three bunch grass requirement. At the time the Division recommended [hat the seed mix be revised to include at least one, or two more cool season bunch grasses. Minrec responded that before changing the seed mix and performing interseeding, the appropriateness of the species diversity standard would be reviewed. Minrec indicated that an application 4