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The Division received a bond release request (SL-02), on September 7, 1995, for Phase II release <br />on the permit "Phase [V" mining azea, for topsoil replacement, reclamation of Pond 3, successful <br />vegetation establishment and erosion control. The Division considered the application incomplete <br />on September 11, 1995, pending required public notification and proof of adjacent landowner <br />notification. Upon receipt of these items, the Division deemed the application complete on <br />October 10, 1995. <br />The Division observed the vegetation sampling during an inspection conductc~ on August 8, <br />1995. Since the operator planned to submit the bond release application based upon the 1995 <br />growing season data, the Division accompanied the sampling crew to confirm data collection <br />methodology and observe the biotic condition of the mine site concurrent with data collection. <br />The bond release inspection was conducted on October 24, i99S. Present during the inspection <br />were representatives from the Division, Slurco, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The <br />Division approved phase I1 release on December 12, 1995. This approval provided reclamation <br />liability release of $123,164.00. The Division holds an Irrevocable Letter of Credit in the amount <br />of $235,132.00. The Division is awaiting receipt of an acceptable replacement bond by Slurco, <br />in the amount of $111,968.00. This bond amount reflects the minimum bond amount required <br />to be retained by the Division pursuant to Rule 3.03.1(2)(b). The Division has estimated that <br />remaining costs associated with final reclamation and maintenance of the mine to be $64,445.00. <br />The bond held by the Division is adequate to complete all remaining reclamation. [Rule <br />3.03.1(3)(d)] <br />Vegetation <br />Two plant communities, big sagebrush and alkali sagebrush, were located within the permit azea. <br />Big sagebrush communities are found on the south and southwest facing slopes, whereas the <br />alkali sagebrush communities are found on north and northeast facing slopes. As only the Big <br />sagebrush community was disturbed during the course of mining, only the Big sagebrush <br />reference azea will be used for evaluation of revegetation success. <br />Baseline vegetation information for the Canadian Strip Mine is presented in Section 2.04.10 of <br />Volume I and Appendix F of Volume II of the original permit document. Information pertaining <br />to the revegetation plan is presented in Section 2.05.4 of Volume I and Exhibit I of Volume III. <br />Canadian Strip Mine, C-81-026 13 December S, 1996 <br />