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Submittal of Bond Release Aaalication and <br />Comaleteness Determination by the Division <br />The Division received RMBT's bond release application SL-2 on February 12, 2004, and <br />found the application complete on April 30, 2004, after the Division received proof of <br />publication of the applicant's public notice. The completeness detennination was made in <br />accordance with Section 3.03.2(1)(d). <br />RMBT submitted the bond release application following the procedures described in the Act <br />and the Regulations. The application also utilizes the Division's Guideline Re a~g <br />Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues, dated April 18, 1995. <br />Public Notice <br />RMBT published notice of the bond release application in the Durango Herald once weekly <br />for four consecutive weeks, beginning on February 25, 2004. RMBT also notified <br />landowners within and adjacent to the mine permit azea, and other interested parties of the <br />application for bond release, as required by Section 3.03.2(1). <br />Bond Release Inspection <br />The Division conducted a bond release inspection on June 4, 2004. The Division's bond <br />release inspection report is on file at its Denver office. The site inspection was conducted <br />in accordance with Section 3.03.2(2). Tom Kaldenbach represented the Division. <br />Michael S. Savage of Savage and Savage represented RMBT. The Division had notified <br />property owners within and contiguous to the site, and the Office of Surface Mining, but <br />they did not attend the inspection. A representative from the Office of Surface Mining <br />participated in an oversight inspection of the site on June 22, 2004, as part of an on-going <br />oversight evaluation of off-site impacts. <br />Following the bond release inspection it became apparent that one of the property owners, <br />Kazen Hunzeker, had not been notified of the inspection. She was given the opportunity to <br />visit the site. During the Division's inspection on August 3, 2004, she visited the site and <br />examined the alluvial monitoring wells, former pond, and leach field on her lands in the Hay <br />Gulch valley, and indicated no objection to the Phase III release. <br />Technical Review <br />The Division reviewed technical aspects of RMBT's bond release submittal in order to <br />determine if the requested bond release is warranted. The review evaluated the methods that <br />RMBT used in gathering and processing the data in the bond release application. The review <br />considered the technical validity of the conclusions that RMBT presented in the application. <br />The Division also independently analyzed various hydrologic impacts. The Division then <br />compazed RMBT's conclusions and the results of the Division's independent analyses to the <br />4 <br />