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Reclamation plan <br />The letter of agreement between RMBT and the Division, effective February 22, 1990, <br />obligated RMBT to complete the reclamation plan previously approved for permit C-87-072. <br />Upon permit revocation in 1989, the approved reclamation plan called for the following <br />reclamation tasks: sealing of portals, removal of structures, backfilling, regrading, and <br />seeding (permit pages 26-29). Two items were approved as permanent in the original plan <br />(page 2.05-34A), the concrete storage bins at the base of the hill and weight scales next to <br />the guazd trailer. After permit revocation the Division approved immediate reclamation of <br />the mine's only sediment pond (south of County Road 120) and an adjacent leach field (letter <br />from the Division dated 4/12/90), and this land was returned to permanent use as pastureland <br />by the landowner. In 1990 the owner and occupant of the office trailer requested and <br />received approval of the trailer's permanent use as living quarters, along with the associated <br />electrical, water, and septic systems (letter from the Division dated 6/12/90). Alternative <br />sediment control was installed on the mine site in 1991, consisting of water bars (earthen <br />berms) and three sediment traps for providing sediment control until vegetation was <br />established on the disturbed lands upslope from the traps. The traps were designed to remain <br />permanently in place and gradually fill in with sediment (Division inspection report 5/1/96). <br />Revegetation Success Standards <br />The La Plata Mine is subject to the following revegetation success standazds: 30% live <br />cover, 500 pounds per acre production, and 600 live woody shrub stems per acre. The <br />Division adopted these standards in the Findings document of the Phase I and II bond release <br />application in 1996 (SL-1). These technical standards were based on range site descriptions <br />published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. As a pre-law site subject to Rule <br />Rule 4.15.10(1), live cover shall not be less than what can be supported by the best available <br />topsoil, shall not be less than the ground cover existing before re-disturbance, and shall be <br />adequate for erosion control. The technical standards were set at the level necessary to fulfill <br />the requirements of Rule 4.15.10(1). <br />Reclamation operations. RMBT's contractors completed most of the reclamation plan in <br />1990 and 1991. During this time the sediment pond was reclaimed and mine openings were <br />sealed. A 300-foot long conveyor was removed in 1992. As a pre-law site, topsoil from the <br />disturbed area had not been salvaged. Seeding was completed by 1992. The office trailer <br />and its associated electrical, water, and septic systems have been used as private living <br />quarters since the occupant requested and received approval for this use in 1990. <br />Previous Bond Releases <br />The Division approved Phases I and II release for the entire permit area in May 1996 (SL-1). <br />The Phases I and II release released the applicant from liability for the entire site for the <br />following items: backfilling, grading, drainage reestablishment, topsoil redistribution, and <br />Phase II establishment of vegetation. Bond release SL-1 was for $49,470. <br />3 <br />