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-5- Description of the Operations and Reclamation Plan Of the ],402 acres to be permitted by H-G Coal Company, 494 acres will have been disturbed by the operation. This represents an 80 acre reduction in disturbance from the originally approved plan. Coal will be removed at a projected rate of 500,000 tons per year through 1986. In 1986 final reclamation operations will commence at the mine. The coal will be removed using an area strip mining method allowing for multiple seam removal. The five coal seams are mined on separate benches such that more than one seam can be mined at a time. During the life of the mine the high wall will advance toward the east and south. In advance of the operation, vegetation will be cleared and topsoil will be salvaged. Topsoil is stockpiled or immediately respread depending upon scheduling. Topsoil stockpiles are seeded for protection and stabilization. Overburden is removed by breaking and hauling material from the pit. Because the breaking process results in angular fragments of rock, it is impossible to restore the material to its original laminar nature. The volume of material to be replaced therefore, exceeds the volume of material in its original state. The effect is that there will be a greater volume of material to be replaced than there is available space in the pit, This overburden situation necessitated the development of an excess spoil pile. The excess spoil pile has been graded, topsoiled and revegetated. The rest of the overburden removed is being backfilled directly into the pit. Reclamation will proceed contemporaneously with mining.. Backfilled areas will be graded, topsoiled and seeded. Vegetation characteristics will be monitored until the post-mining conditions are approximately equal to adjacent areas of comparable vegetation. The final reclaimed surface will blend in with the surrounding undisturbed areas. The load-out area is approximately 10 miles north of the mine along County Road 53. Coal is trucked from the mine along county Road 53 to the tipple. At the tipple the coal is dumped into a crusher, conveyed to a stockpile and then loaded onto trains. After mining ceases, the disturbed area at the load-out will be cleared of coal refuse, and the surface will be ripped, the tracks removed, the embankments regraded and all disturbed areas will be topsoiled and seeded. The load-out facilities area will be reclaimed to be used for hay production. Reclamation success will be determined on the basis of a comparison with the production of hay from an adjacent area. Description of the Proposed Permit Revision HG Coal Company, based on contractual obligations and mining economics has proposed to modify the mine plan at the Hayden Gulch Mine. The proposed modification reduces the area to be mined by approximately 80 acres, decreases the projected yearly production to 500,000 tons per year, and shortens the ]ife of the mine to approximately 2.5 years.. Attendant to the reduced production and disturbance, the permittee has proposed a post-mining topography which has been modified from that approved in permit C-003-80.