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the regraded facilities area to a depth of 2 to 3 feet prior to <br />topsoil replacement. Sufficient topsoil will be retained for final <br />reclamation of the ponds on the mine site and loadout. <br />EFCI also utilizes direct replacement or live-handling of topsoil <br />where practical. In live handling, the "A" horizon is separated <br />from the "B" horizon (subsoil). The common practice is, as the <br />footprint of the refuse disposal pile proceeds westward, to strip <br />the topsoil and carry it to the top of the refuse pile where it is <br />placed over the subsoil material which has been graded over the <br />refuse lift. The mine is permitted for a permanent topsoil pile <br />atop the refuse area, but to date has not had to build it due to <br />the live-handling techniques utilized. <br />Backfilling and grading will re-establish contours to approximate <br />original configuration with existing landforms. <br />Revegetation techniques for reclamation of the mine site are <br />covered in Section 2.04.10 of the permit application and have been <br />approved by the Division. EFCI uses both a temporary and a <br />permanent seed mix. The temporary seed mix is used in areas that <br />will be re-disturbed in the future and offers prevention against <br />significant erosion. In general the reclamation plan calls for the <br />disturbed areas, once ripped and topsoiled, to be seeded in the <br />late fall. Successful seedings at the mine site have occurred as <br />late as January due to the nature of the mild winters at the site. <br />EFCI has seeded, and will seed, the disturbed areas with both a <br />temporary and permanent seed mix which has been approved by the <br />Division and can be found in Section 2.05.4, pg 21R of the permit <br />application. Both drill and broadcast seeding methods have been <br />used at the site to re-establish vegetation. Straw mulch has been <br />and will be applied at the rate of 2 tons per acre. Following <br />mulch application, the mulch is crimped to prevent wind loss using <br />a conventional disk. <br />Shrub and tree saplings have been planted on the refuse pile with <br />limited success due to deer and elk foraging on the tender <br />transplants. The permit commitment by EFCI to re-establishing <br />woody plants is 4 trees and 12 shrubs per acre. Transplants have <br />included one-seed junipers, ponderosa pines, skunkbrush sumacs, red <br />cedars, mountain mahoganies and pinon pines. <br />Water Rights and Usage <br />EFCI currently has the legal right to utilize water from the Corley <br />Mine Well for mining, processing and related operations. Records <br />taken over the last 15 years suggest no negative impacts or <br />reduction in flow have occurred from Southfield's use of the water <br />from this well. <br />Stipulation No. 20, written in response to address the North <br />Dewatering Well, was issued in 1993 as part of the Mid-term Review. <br />This stipulation committed EFCI to either obtaining a permit for <br />the North Dewatering Well or developing a closed-loop system for <br />keeping the water underground, in effect closing the well and re- <br />19 <br />