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Midterm Review <br />New Horizon Mines 1 & 2 <br />This document presents the results of the Midterm Review of Western Fuels of Colorado, <br />LLC's New Horizon Mine, conducted by the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />(the Division). This Midterm Review was conducted to fulfill the requirements of the <br />Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act, and Rules 2.08.3, 2.06.2(9), 2.06.3(4), <br />2.06.5(3), 2.06.7(5), and 3.02.2(4) of the Rules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Board for Coal Mining, promulgated to implement the Act. <br />Rule 2.08.3 requires that the Division conduct a review of each permit issued, prior to its <br />midterm (2'/z years). Based on this review, for good cause shown, the Division may require <br />reasonable revisions to, or modifications of, the permit provisions to ensure compliance with <br />the Act and Regulations. <br />Rules 2.06.2, 2.06.3, 2.06.5, and 2.06.7 require that during the midterm review, where <br />applicable, experimental practices, mountaintop removal variances, variances from <br />approximate original contour (AOC), and variances from contemporaneous reclamation, <br />respectively, be reviewed by the Division. The New Horizon Mine does not conduct <br />experimental practices, nor have variances been granted for mountaintop removal or <br />approximate original contour. <br />Rule 3.02.2(4) requires that the Division review the amount of performance bond liability <br />and the terms of acceptance of the bond every 2i/z years. <br />This midterm review consisted of a detailed review of the New Horizon Mine permit <br />application and previous Division findings of compliance to identify any items that may have <br />been overlooked during the initial review. The Division also reviewed all subsequent <br />revisions and responses to ensure that all permit commitments and conditions were being <br />followed. Hydrologic monitoring data was reviewed in conjunction with the review of the <br />application to assess the adequacy of the monitoring plan and discussion of predicted <br />hydrologic impacts. Problems and observations from past Division inspection reports were <br />also considered. <br />Section 1 -History <br />The New Horizon Mine is a medium size surface coal mining operation located in Montrose <br />Counry at the town of Nucla, Colorado. The mine area is divided into Mine 1, the old <br />Peabody Nucla Strip Mine, and Mine 2, the current operations immediately west of Nucla. <br />The mine area encompasses approximately 426.6 acres at Mine 1 and 220 acres at Mine 2, <br />all of which is privately owned. <br />Operations at the New Horizon Mine began in May, 1983 under Peabody and ran continually <br />until 1991. Western Fuels-Colorado purchased the mine and in May 1992 began operations. <br />Midterm Review - New Horizon Xi ne 1 November 1995 <br />