2007-11-16_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981041

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Summary Present Status The Roadside North and South Portal Mines (formerly known as the Roadside and Cameo Mines) is an underground coal mining operation located in Mesa County, approximately three miles northeast of Palisade, Colorado, adjacent to Interstate 70 and the Colorado River, at the Cameo exit in DeBeque Canyon. Although the official status of the operation is "Active", there has been no coal extraction at the mine since December 1999. With the exception ofthe train loadout facility, ongoing activity is limited to monitoring, maintenance, and reclamation. The train loadout facility is approved for storage and rail loading and unloading of construction materials. Extensive reclamation work has been conducted at the mine since coal extraction ceased, much of the work performed after acquisition of the operation by Snowcap Coal Company (SCC) in 2001/2002. During active operations, mine portals, coal processing facilities, and a coal mine waste disposal area were located south and east of the interstate, and river. Additional mine portals, coal handling facilities, two coal mine waste disposal areas, and a rail loadout facility, were located north and west of the river. At present (November 2007), the North Portals have been sealed and backfilled, North Portal facilities demolished, and backfilling and grading of the North Portal facilities area largely completed. One of the two coal waste disposal areas north and west of the river in Coal Canyon has been fully reclaimed, and the other has been largely reclaimed. At the South Mine, located south and east of I-70, the South Portal has been sealed, the coal processing plant and various other facilities have been demolished and removed, and the refuse disposal area has been partially reclaimed. Major reclamation tasks yet to be completed include final facilities demolition, earthwork, and revegetation at the South Portal facilities area (currently in progress), permanent drainage channel modifications along Coal Creek below the upper dip section culverts, within Cameo Soil Borrow Area No. 2, and at the North Portal Reclaimed Area. Completion of the permanent drainage channel work along Coal Creek and in the North Mine reclaimed areas will be required prior to Phase 1 Bond Release for the channel corridors. Final reclamation plans for the South Portal facilities were modified by Permit Revision No. 3 (PR-3), approved in September 2007. PR-3 incorporated a variance from approximate original contour (AOC), and allowed for retention of certain buildings and facilities in order to accommodate a commercial postmining land use. The railroad spur, unit train loadout, and related facilities are currently (November 2007) scheduled to be reclaimed by the end of 2009. A revision application (PR-4) is currently under review, which would change the postmining land use of these areas to commercial/industrial, if approved. Histo The DeBeque Canyon area within and adjacent to the current permit area has been historically disturbed by coal mining activities since the late 1800's, and the Colorado River alluvial valley floor area which has been altered and affected by these operations has been "grandfathered" into the permit area. The Cameo Power Plant, which was a customer for coal from the Roadside Portals when the mine was operating, is located just south of the North Portal facilities, on the west side of the river. Underground mining operations using modern, mechanized methods began in 1974. Between 1974 and 1999, approximately 242 acres of surface lands were disturbed in conjunction with the operation. GEX Colorado, Inc. submitted the original permanent program permit application for the Roadside and Cameo Mines on February 17, 1981, pursuant to Section 34-33-109 ofthe Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act. On Permit Renewal No. 5 3 November 16, 2007