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<br />Canyon, progressing east. Contour cuts and head-of-hollow fills will be constructed as mining <br />advances. Overburden material will be moved using a combination of dozers, trucks and loaders, <br />and cast blasting. Sediment control structures will be constructed in advance of the disturbance <br />in each watershed. Overburden material will be regraded to approximate the original contour <br />prior to re-application of subsoil andlor topsoil material. <br />Surface mine facilities will be portable and moved as the mine progresses. Underground mine <br />facilities include an office, wazehouse radial coal stackers, conveyors, fuel tanks, power poles, <br />and ventilation fans. Temporary overburden stockpiles will be constructed at each of the <br />underground portal locations and at the coal loadout facility. <br />Coal will be shuttled by rail from the rail loadout at the mouth of Lorencito Canyon to the New <br />Elk mine site (permit no. C-81-012) located approximately 8 miles to the west. Coal will then be <br />washed in the prep plant and loaded onto unit trains for transportation to mazket. Refuse will be <br />disposed of in the existing refuse disposal area. <br />The applicant estimates 1.6 million cubic yazds of topsoil and subsoil will be removed. Some of <br />this topsoil will be stockpiled for re-application: However, much of the topsoil material will be <br />live-handled on the surface mine azea, when possible. Topsoil will be re-applied to a depth of .9 <br />feet at the surface mine, 1.6 feet along reclaimed roadways, 2.5 feet at the portals and loadout, <br />and .9 feet at the pond locations. <br />The revegetation plan has three main objectives. The first is to assist in controlling excessive <br />erosion and sedimentation. Secondly, the objective is to establish a vegetative cover which is <br />ecologically compazative to the native, pre-mine community. A final objective is to restore <br />wildlife, grazing, watershed, and aesthetic values to meet the post-mining land use. <br />The applicant proposes to seed disturbed azeas with native plant species. The proposed seed mix <br />includes a nuxture of seasonally adapted species. One introduced species, Winter rye (Secale <br />cereale), is included in the seed mix to act as a nurse crop until the permanent seed mix becomes <br />established. <br />Based on projected water needs for the operation, the applicant plans to rely on the water rights <br />decreed to four irrigation ditches which have historically irrigated portions of the Lorencito tract. <br />Total water available to the applicant from these four ditches is 5.5 cfs. <br />13 <br />