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Sunland will seal the mine portals with a double block seal as required <br />by the Mine Health and Safety Administration (MSHA). Besides the <br />Apex No. 2 Mine portals, Sunland will also seal the adjacent Apex No. 1 <br />Mine portal currently being used by Sunland fora bleeder fan. <br />The operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. <br />XXIII. Subsidence - Rules 2.05.6(6) and 4.20 <br />Information pertaining to subsidence is presented on pages 189-190 and <br />194-211. <br />Sunland hired a consulting firm to develop a subsidence control plan for <br />the mine. The only resource identified in the permit area requiring <br />protection is a seasonally occupied ranch house located in Fault Block <br />No. 3. Sunland had committed in the original permit application to <br />subsidence monitoring and a reduction in coal recovery in this fault <br />block as measures to protect this ranch house. As part of Permit Renewal <br />No. 1 application, Sunland has dropped consideration of mining in this <br />fault block and will mine this area only after submitting necessary <br />revision applications. Therefore, this ranch house will not be impacted <br />by subsidence during this permit term. <br />Based on hydrologic investigations and the nature of the geology, the <br />Division has concluded that arty subsidence above the planned mined area <br />will have negligible, if any, impact on the ground water regime. <br />The operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. <br />XXIV. Special Categories of Mining Other than Alluvial Valley Floor and <br />The Apex No. 2 Mine is not a combined surface and underground mining <br />operation (Rule 4.22); has no auger mining (Rule 4.23); is not a mountain <br />top removal operation (Rule 4.26); has no coal processing plants and <br />support facilities located at or near the mine site or within the permit <br />area for the mine (Rule 4.28); and is not an in-situ processing operation <br />(Rule 4.29). However, the mine is classified as a steep slope mine as <br />addressed on pages 182-183 of the permit application. <br />The mine portals were developed above Routt County Road 29 on an <br />extremely steep slope (80-90~). Sunland has requested a variance from <br />approximate original contour (AOC) for this area. As previously <br />addressed in Section XVII - Backfilling and Grading, the Division granted <br />this variance request from AOC requirements for this area to allow for <br />partial backfilling which will ensure a minimum stability safety factor <br />of 1.3 is obtained. <br />The operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. <br />-20- <br />