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. PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />Seneca Coal Company applied for a Phase I bond release of 188.1 disturbed acres under the <br />Colorado Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act following reclamation of the North Pit area <br />of the Yoast Mine. The mine is located in Routt County, Colorado, on lands included within: <br />Township 6 North, Range 87 West; Portions of Sections 28, 29 and 32; and <br />Township 5 North, Range 87 West; All of Section 17; Portions of Sections 5, 8, 16, 18, 19, 20, <br />29, and 30. <br />The Yoast Mine plan area is located in northwest Colorado approximately 8.5 miles southeast <br />of the town of Hayden, and is positioned between three existing coal-mining operations. The <br />Yoast Mine plan area is approximately 4 miles southwest of the Seneca II Mine, 3.5 miles east <br />of the Seneca II-W mine, and one mile west of the reclaimed Grassy Gap Mine. The mining <br />azea is located between Sage Creek and Grassy Creek and is found on USGS 7.5 Minute <br />Quadrangle Maps of Dunckley and Mount Harris. <br />The Yoast Mine is a surface operation that used area strip techniques and auger mining to <br />recover coal from the Wadge and Wolf Creek seams. Mining activities started in 1995 and <br />occurred in two separate areas, and in the neck pit connecting the two areas throughout the life <br />of mining. During the first five-yeaz permit term, mining was developed in the North Pit in <br />Section 17 of Township 5 North, Range 87 West, which is the azea being requested for Phase I <br />bond release. Mining during the second and third terms occurred in Sections 17, 19, 20, 29, <br />and 30. <br />The Wadge Coal seam was mined in the North Pit area. Elevations in the North Pit range <br />from 7175 to 7875 feet above mean sea level. The coal outcropped at the southern and eastern <br />perimeters of the North Pit with coal dipping to the north. Overburden depths were as much <br />as 115' feet at the northern end of the pit area. Mining was completed in the North Pit in <br />1998. The chronology of backfill and grading is shown on Exhibit B of the Phase I bond <br />release application. <br />All mining operations have been completed at the Yoast Mine. Coal production at the mine <br />ceased in February 2006. The 650 dragline was moved to a designated Dragline Teazdown <br />Area in May 2006. The Wolf Creek and Wadge Area pits have all been entirely backfilled and <br />graded, topsoil has been redistributed, and seeding and planting has been completed in all <br />former pit locations of the mine site. Areas remaining to be backfilled and graded include the <br />main haul road corridor, the facilities/explosive storage area, and remaining topsoil pile <br />locations. Limited reclamation and maintenance activities will be ongoing at the Yoast Mine. <br />The mining permit was issued on August 5, 1995. Two successive permit renewals have since <br />been approved. The entire performance bond for the Yoast Mine is a single corporate surety in <br />the amount of $5,200,000.00 from Seaboazd Surety Company (Bond Number 329873). <br />The total permit area at the Yoast Mine encompasses 2,318.3 acres. The specific azea (188.1 <br />3 <br />