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The Review Process (RN-4)
<br />Please refer to Findings Documents of June 15, 2001, May Z, 2003, November 17, 2004, and
<br />June 12, 2006 respectively, for RN-3, PR-3, PR-4, and PR-5 Review Process narrative.
<br />On May 18, 2005, 2005, Seneca Coal Company submitted an application for successive renewal
<br />of Permit C-82-057 for the Seneca II-W Mine. The application, designated Permit Renewal No.
<br />4 (RN-4), was deemed complete for purposes of filing on June 3, 2005, and completeness
<br />notifications were sent to Town of Hayden, Upper Yampa Water Conservation District,
<br />Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Division of Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of
<br />Engineers, Office of Surface Mining, Routt County Commissioners, Routt County Planning
<br />Department, OSM, BLM Little Snake Field Office, Water Quality Control Division, State Land
<br />Board, NRCS Steamboat Springs Field Office, Air Pollution Control Division, Colorado
<br />Geological Survey, Colorado Division of Wildlife, State Historic Preservation Office, U.S Fish
<br />and Wildlife Service, and permit area landowner Theresa Friederich. A public notice of the
<br />application was published in the Steamboat Pilot once a week for four consecutive weeks
<br />beginning June 12, 2005 and ending July 3, 2005.
<br />Two comment letters were received during the review. The State Historic Preservation Officer
<br />(SHPO) commented in a letter of June 2, 2005 that, because the application would not result in
<br />additional land disturbance, there would be no effect to historic properties. BLM Little Snake
<br />Field Office (LSFO) noted in a letter of August 19, 2005, that SCC would need to modify their
<br />Resource Recovery and Protection Plan (R2P2) to address the proposed mine plan changes and
<br />modified reserve tonnages proposed in Permit Revision No. 5 (PR-5). The BLM concerns were
<br />forwarded to the operator and addressed within the context of the PR-5 review.
<br />The Division issued a preliminary adequacy review letter on August 2, 2005. The letter
<br />identified only one deficiency, and requested updates to the legal and financial section of the
<br />permit. The concern was resolved by submittal of Minor Revision No. 59 (MR-59), which was
<br />approved August 15, 2005.
<br />Issuance of a proposed decision for RN-4, was delayed due to issues associated with the
<br />reclamation cost estimate. The Division's initial estimate was forwarded to SCC in a letter of
<br />August 16, 2005, The cost estimate issue was complicated due to substantial reclamation plan
<br />changes associated with PR-5, which was under concurrent review. Due to the close linkage of
<br />reclamation cost and bond adequacy issues for the two permitting actions, the Division
<br />determined that the most efficient solution would be [o delay issuance of RN-11, pending issuance
<br />of a proposed decision for PR-5. In a letter of March 15, 2006, the Division advised SCC that
<br />the deadline for issuance of a proposed decision for RN-4 would be extended until after issuance
<br />of a proposed decision for PR-5. A combined cost estimate for PR-5 and RN-4 was finalized
<br />prior to issuance of the PR-5 proposed approval decision. The revised liability amount was
<br />$9,517,161.00, which is $190,212.00 less that the current bond amount held, $9,707,373.00.
<br />Seneca II-W Findings Document 10 July 3, 2006
<br />Permit Renewal No. 5
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