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I. <br />openings and portals and all shallow open pits with severe vertical drops will be backfilled with <br />additional waste-dump materials located at the site and then will be slightly mounded to preclude <br />future subsidence. <br />RECONTOUR AREAS OIL DISTURBANCE <br />After the mine openings and portals are successfully and permanently closed, all aeeas of <br />disturbance will be recontow-ed to blend in with the natural topography, as practicable. This <br />recontouring includes <br />• Reducing the slopes of the remaining waste-dump materials to less than a 3 to I ratio, while <br />providing a basin effect on the top of the waste-dump materials to collect and contain all <br />storm waters that contact the site. <br />• Removing waste-dump materials from the existing natural drainages, as practicable, and <br />eliminating the potential for these materials to enter the drainages in the future. <br />• Recontouring the immediate aeeas to provide an undulating surface that closely represents the <br />natural surrounding topography. <br />Any azea of disturbance that has revegetated naturally during the past several decades will <br />not be redisturbed unless physical hazards exist that must be addressed. In either case, as much of <br />the existing vegetation regrowth will be left (as practicable) during the reclamation efforts. Any <br />topsoil that was previously stockpiled on the site or is in the immediate vicinity of the site will be <br />spread across the disturbed areas to promote revegetation. If topsoil has not been previously <br />stockpiled or is not available within the disturbed azea, it will not be mined at another location <br />and hauled in. A second area of disturbance will not be created to enhance the reclamation efforts <br />or success of the initial azea..411 disturbed areas will then be reseeded with a BLM-approved <br />mixture of native grasses and shrubs developed for the specific climatic conditions. <br />REDIRECT ALL STORM WATER <br />Several efforts will be undertaken to control the effects that storm waters have on the <br />abandoned mine site. First, al l mine entrance locations will be backfilled sufficiently to provide <br />positive drainage away from the entrance azea. Second, the waste-dtrmp materials will be <br />recontoured to create a basin on top of the waste-dump materials that will collect and contain all <br />storm waters that come in contact with it. The basin will be constructed to create minibasins <br />within the major basin feature to promote individual collection points that could enhance the <br />revegetation efforts. Storm waters collected in the basins will be allowed to evaporate from or <br />percolate through the basin. Third, all major drainage features leading onto the mine site will be <br />diverted azound the site or stabilized in place to reduce the overall effects that major storm-water <br />events could have on the reclamation efforts and the abandoned site in general. The last step will <br />be to place silt fences or other suitable devices within and across the drainages leaving the mine <br />site to preclude the transport of sediments from the site to downstream locations. <br />REDUCE P ,.,._.'~'IAL EXPOSURE TO RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS <br />All abandoned uranium mines have naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) <br />associated with t}iem in the form of 1) low-grade materials that aze uneconomic to transport and <br />mill or 2) residi7~13re-stockpiJ.e matet'ials. Outcrops ofuranium-bearing formations often exist at <br />the mine sites an'ti`"represeiit the initial uranium discoveries that led to the mines' development. <br />These radioactive materials an: a potential source of radiation exposure to the general public and <br />the environment. However, it i.s often cost prohibitive, if not entirely impossible, to eliminate <br />these NORM sources from the environment. <br />It is DOE's policy to mininuze the potential exposure to the general public resulting from <br />mining-related radioactive materials. During reclamation activities on DOE lease tracts, the <br />following measures will be taken to reduce or limit the potential for exposure to NORM: <br />1278-tab.doc <br />