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Project Overview 1 Western Fuels-Utah, Inc. (WFU) operates the Deserado Coal Mine under a permit (Permit No. C-81-018) issued by the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG). Location of the mine is approximately eight miles east of Rangely, Colorado off of State Highway 64. The Deserado Mine is an underground coal mine utilizing the longwall method of coal extraction. Continuous miners are also used to develop mains and gate roads. The run-of- mine coal is crushed and washed in the on-site preparation plant. Washed coal is shipped to the Bonanza Power Generating Station by rail. The refuse remaining after the coal washing process is shipped by haul trucks to refuse storage piles. There are three refuse piles, RP-1 RP-2/3, and RP-4. The refuse pile RP-1 is full and was reclaimed in the summer of 1990. According to the permit, refuse piles must be reclaimed with a minimum topsoil and subsoil cover of four feet. WFU estimates that available subsoil and topsoil quantities are inadequate to meet the four-foot cover requirement for other planned refuse piles other than RP-1. Consequently, WFU needs a DMG variance from the four-foot cover criterion. To obtain this variance, a demonstration of revegetation success using less than four feet of cover must be provided. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether successful revegetation can be achieved with atopsoil/subsoil cover thickness of less than four feet. If the study shows that a lower topsoil/subsoil cover thickness can achieve successful revegetation, then WFU will apply to DMG for a variance from the four feet cover requirement and establish the thickness shown to be adequate by the study as the revegetation success standard. WFU has coordinated with DMG and has agreed upon a study plan that will provide the ' demonstration of revegetation success with less than four feet of cover. Objectives of the study are: ' • Using the reference plots, define revegetation success criteria for vegetative cover, production, species diversity, and woody plant density for statistical evaluation of test plot revegetation success. • Assess the revegetation success of test plots with northern and southern exposures and 12-inch, 24-inch, 36-inch, and 48-inch topsoil/subsoil cover thicknesses over a four grow- ing season period. • Determine the minimal cover thickness with which successful revegetation of the refuse piles can be achieved.