GENERAL41337

• Permit No: C1981015
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 7/17/1995
• Doc Name: Letter Responding to May 18 1995 Letter
• From: DMG
• To: GREG LEWICKI AND ASSOCIATES
• Permit Index Doc Type: General Correspondence
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman St., Room 215 `y

Denver. Colorado 80203 I
~

Phone. [phone] II
FA%:1303) 832-8106
July 17
1995 DEPARTMENT OF
, NATURAL
Greg Lewicki and Associates RESOURCES
1645 Court Place, Suite 309 Roy ROmer
Denver, Colorado 80202 co~ernnr
lames 5 Lochhead
Re: Fruita Mine Reclamation Bond Issues Executive Director
File No. C-81-015 M~chael8 Long
Div~sian Dnec loi
Dear Mr. Lewicki:
At the minesite inspection on May 8, 1995, attended by Earl Madden
and you, representing American Shield Coal Company, and Paul
Krabacher and myself of the Division, you expressed the opinion
that American Shield should be entitled to receive some portion of
the $36,000.00 forfeited reclamation bond within the next year or
two, based on the reclamation completed to date, and the status of
the reclaimed site. During the inspection, we all agreed that a
satisfactory vegetation stand comparable to adjacent areas with
respect to cover and species composition is becoming established on
the lower portions of the reclaimed site in the vicinity of
reclaimed coal stockpile and topsoil stockpile. However we
observed that the vegetation on the steep fill slope below the
upper bench is made up almost exclusively of annual species,
primarily cheatgrass, with lesser amounts of Kochia, Halogeton,
Russian thistle, and mustard. Vegetation on the backfilled lower
Anchor portal is similar to that on the fill slope below the upper
bench, with the exception of a few scattered shadscale saltbush,
rubber rabbitbrush, and Indian ricegrass plants on the lower part
of the slope.
In your letter of May 18, 1995, you restated your contention that
some portion of the bond money should be returned to American
Shield in the near future, questioned the appropriate standard of
success for perennial vegetation, and raised certain concerns
regarding revegetation techniques to be employed by the Division at
the site. You also provided several photos showing conditions at
the site during operations in the 1970's, prior to reclamation in
1989, and after reclamation in 1993 and 1995. Finally, you asked
when American Shield could expect some bond money to be returned to
them, and for how long a time the Division would retain contingency
funds from the bond to be used in the event additional work is
needed.
As we discussed at the site, AML will be administering the
reclamation work to be done this fall, and Paul Krabacher will be
the project manager. The major focus of the project will be