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I. REVIEW OF MINE STATUS <br />The current status and permitting history of the operation is essentially as outlined in the January 7, <br />2005 renewal findings document, and the reader is referred to the summary section of that document <br />far a detailed description. Operational activity at the mine is limited to periodic use of a small (4.9 <br />acre approved disturbance) coal waste disposal area located adjacent to lower Munger Creek. Site <br />construction and initial waste disposal occurred in the fall of 2004, and periodic use and maintenance <br />of the facility continues. The coal waste is generated at the adjacent Central Appalachia Mining LLC <br />(CAM) McClane Canyon Mine. The waste haulage, disposal, and associated work is the only <br />operational activity approved at Munger Canyon, under the current permit. Additional activity is limited <br />to periodic maintenance and monitoring of facilities in the portal bench area and the haul/access road <br />connecting the portal area to State Highway 139. <br />The four portals at Munger Canyon were sealed with MSHA approved concrete foam in 1992, at <br />varying distances in from the openings. One of the openings had apparently been filled and covered <br />over with soil shortly after sealing. The remaining openings were backfilled with soil outby the <br />seals in early July 2000, as verified in the Division's July 31, 2000 inspection report. The portal <br />bench area was partially regraded, cover soiled and seeded with a stabilization seedmix in 2001. <br />A small permitted rail loadout facility near Loma, Colorado was cleaned up, graded and seeded in <br />2001. There has been maintenance grading and partial reseeding in the portal bench area in <br />subsequent years, and the Loma Loadout was completely reseeded with a revised seedmix in <br />November 2004, due to failure of the original seeding. <br />Under Technical Revision 16 (TR-16), approved in January 2004, the permit application package was <br />updated to reflect current operational plans and to eliminate extraneous and outdated information. <br />With the exception of phased development of the coal waste disposal site, no further mining or facility <br />expansion is proposed or approved. However the permit application does indicate that the existing <br />haul and access road and portal bench facility may have future operational utility. The amended mine <br />plan states that the mine site will be maintained in its current size and configuration until mains from <br />the adjacent McClane Canyon mine approach the Munger permit boundary. At that time, projected to <br />be between 2014 and 2019, the operator will either initiate final reclamation, or revise the permit <br />application to allow use of the existing road and bench facilities for ventilation or access to reserves in <br />the southern portion of the permit area. <br />The original Munger Canyon Mine permit incorporated a steep slope variance from approximate <br />original contour requirements. Subsequent revisions to the permit resulted in elimination of the <br />steep slope variance. The currently approved reclamation plan achieves approximate original <br />contour. <br />