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The Bowie No. 2 Mine is located in azeas known to be subject to mass movement processes. <br />Extensive design efforts and regulatory review were implemented prior to the approval of the <br />Bowie No. 2 Mine and during the review of Permit Revision No. 3 and Permit Revision No. 7. <br />The details regarding the geotechnical aspects of the mining and reclamation plan aze presented <br />within Volume VII of the permit application document. <br />The Bowie No. 2 Mine will be reclaimed to the post-mining land uses of rangeland, wildlife <br />habitat and industrial. The approval of Permit Revision No. 6 added cropland and pastureland to <br />the post-mining land uses. All facilities areas and some roads will be reclaimed to reestablish the <br />approximate original contour of the land. All portals, shafts and monitoring wells will be <br />backfilled, in accordance with the applicable rules and with the reclamation details provided <br />within the permit application. Some of the roads which existed prior to mining will be retained to <br />serve the postmining land use. <br />Topsoil will be redistributed on all disturbed azeas, The soils will be tested for nutrient <br />deficiencies, and fertilizers will be applied as needed. <br />Revegetation will be implemented using the seed mixes approved. Four permanent seed mixes <br />are approved. One mix will be applied to azeas which were identified as Meadow prior to <br />mining, and another seed mix will be applied to the areas identified as Juniper Woodland and <br />Mixed Shrub communities prior to mining. These two seed mixes, designated as seed mix no. 2 <br />and seed mix no. 3, were revised in Permit Renewal No. 1 to replace several aggressive <br />introduced species with native species. Mulch will be applied at an approximate rate of 4000 <br />pounds per acre. The USDA-FS provided its own reclamation seed mixes for disturbed azeas on <br />USFS lands. One seed mix is for the mountain shrub community and the other is for the <br />aspen spruce/fir community. The Division had suggested the addition of three forbs into the seed <br />mixes. However, the USDA-FS declined the suggestion. BRL has accepted the USDA-FS <br />reclamation seed mixes, with the knowledge that the reclamation success standazds will still <br />apply. Approval of Permit Revision No. 6 added two new seed mixes into the reclamation <br />requirements. One seed mix is for reclamation of the hayland azeas and the other is for <br />reclamation of the pasture azeas. <br />The review of the permit renewal application revealed that the Colorado Division of Wildlife <br />(CDOW) had not been consulted on the woody plant stem density for reclaimed azeas at the <br />Bowie No. 2 Mine. BRL sent a letter to the CDOW, dated Mazch 18, 2002, requested their <br />consultation and concurrence on the matter. Because this matter may take some time to resolve, <br />Stipulation No. 14 was added to the approval for Permit Renewal No. 1 that requires that BRL <br />provide verification of concurrence from the CDOW for the proposed plan. <br />Hydrologic and subsidence monitoring will occur throughout the operational and reclamation <br />phases of the Bowie No. 2 Mine project. While deleterious hydrologic or subsidence-related <br />impacts aze not anticipated, the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit application contains mitigation plans <br />to be implemented if negative impacts are detected. <br />19 <br />