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mine bench that does not drain into the rock check/silt fence control area. The small lower road topsoil stockpile located east of the coal waste disposal site is another small area exemption, with vegetative cover sediment control. All of the various existing small area exemption sediment control features will be eliminated by reclamation operations. The revision plan will need to include amended small area exemption sediment control plans for the reclaimed portal bench area and reclaimed lower road topsoil stockpile area, including appropriate maps, narrative, and modeling to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed control measures. 4. The current reclamation schedule is described in the narrative on page 3-1, and the timetable is presented in Table 3.7-2. Given CAM's decision to initiate reclamation as soon as 2007, the reclamation timetable will need to be amended, to the extent that there would be changes to the schedule specified in the current plan. We would request that "Year 1 ", "Year 2", etc. be revised to specify 2007,- _ 2008, as appropriate. Preliminary discussions indicate that CAM may desire to complete the entire reclamation project in a single field season (or at least the reclamation of the portal bench, canyon section of the access road, and the coal waste disposal area). This may present certain reclamation sequencing and access problems associated with revegetation. The plan requires broadcast seeding, followed by straw mulching, and application of tackifier by hydro-mulcher. If all the regrading and topsoiling work associated with the mine bench and access road is completed prior to initiation of seeding, it maybe impossible to access upper segments of the road and the portal bench with seeding and mulching equipment. As such, it may be necessary to keep the seeding equipment on site for significant periods of time during the on-going grading operations, so that seeding/mulching can be periodically undertaken as logical and accessible areas of dirtwork and seedbed preparation are completed. In this way, grading and seeding could be accomplished more or less concurrently as work proceeds down the road from the portal bench. Coordination of this process with the approved seeding seasons (March/April, July IS-August 30, and October 15-December IS) may present some difficulties. Additionally, if BLM places restrictions limiting reclamation activity between December I and May 1, scheduling maybe further complicated. Equipment access to the portal bench area may be difficult following reclamation of the access road (without causing signifcant re-disturbance). Some repair of channel and hillslope erosion, grading associated with repair of minor slumps or settling cracks, and similar maintenance activities are commonly warranted in the first couple years following reclamation, particularly on steep slope sites. For this reason, it may be prudent to delay reclamation of the access road until a stabilizing vegetation cover has become established on the portal bench reclaimed area.