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Wesl E!k Mine <br />• 2.05.4 Reclamation Plan <br />Statement of Purpose and Pre-Mining Land Use <br />The goal of Mountain Coal Company's reclamation plan is to return disturbed land at the West Elk <br />Mine site to a productive and useful status. It is recognized that many alternatives exist for restoring <br />the disturbed acreage. Some of these potential uses include rangeland, hayland or pasture, <br />forestland, wildlife habitat, recreation lands or residential, and light industrial use. <br />Mountain Coal Company proposes to return all disturbed lands to rangeland and wildlife habitat <br />land uses. These uses will be consistent with the present surrounding uses. Information presented in <br />Section ?.04.3 describes the pre-mining land uses in detail. <br />Reclamation activities will establish a permanent vegetative cover of the same seasonal vaziety <br />native to the area and capable ofself-regeneration and plan succession equal in extent and cover to <br />the natural vegetation in the area. Any introduced species will be compatible with the plant and <br />animal species of the region. <br />Rehabilitation of the disturbed surface areas will be accomplished in increments as suitable areas <br />for reclamation become available. The facilities area will be returned to the approximate original <br />contour and the reclaimed land will have a minimum stability factor of safety of 1.3. Surfaces will <br />be dressed with previously stockpiled seedbed topsoil and planted with a variety of plant species. <br />• Planting will occur during the first normal period for favorable planting conditions afrer final <br />preparation of the reclaimed surface. <br />Bear Coal Companv Reclamation <br />The Bear Coal Company is responsible for reclaiming its surface disturbances as stated in their <br />permit. However, there are three areas of the Bear Mine area that Mountain Coal Company will <br />disturb and will be responsible for reclaiming. They are the proposed Freshwater Pond No. 2, the <br />44 KV powerline outside of the Delta-Montrose Electric Association corridor, and the spoil <br />stockpile area described in Exhibit 47. These areas have or will be reclaimed by Mountain Coal <br />Company according to Bear Coal Company's reclamation plan in Exhibit 64, except that MCC's <br />approved seed mixtures shall be utilized. <br />Reclamation Methodology <br />Topsoil Salvage <br />Mountain Coal Company recognizes the importance of topsoil to plant and animal life of the area. <br />For this reason, all useable topsoil has been and will continue to be salvaged and stockpiled for later <br />use to cover reclaimed surfaces. To evaluate the soils present before activity began, a survey of the <br />existing soils within the West Elk Mine site was conducted. Interpretations of the soil survey <br />indicated that the existing soil types were suitable for use as seedbed quality material. A listing of <br />• the soil mapping units, their suitability for use as seedbed quality material, and pertinent <br />2.05-50 Revised Jan. 1996 RV03 <br />