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I. PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />Seneca Coal Company applied for a full liability bond release of 259.1 disturbed acres of Pre-Law lands <br />and followed the procedures set forth under the Colorado Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act <br />with regard to the bond release application process. However, these Pre-Law lands were subject to the <br />provisions of the Colorado Open Cut Land Reclamation Act of 1969 and the Colorado Open Mining <br />Land Reclamation Act of 1973 with regard to reclamation requirements. Applicable reclamation laws <br />are described in more detail below under Section II, Criteria for Bond Release. The mine area is located <br />in Routt County, Colorado, in lands included within: <br />TSN, R87W; All of Sections 1, 2 and 12; Portions of Sections 3, 11 and 13 <br />T6N, R87W; Portions of Sections 27, 34, 35 and 36 <br />TSN, R86W; Portions of Sections 6 and 7. <br />The Seneca II Mine is located in northwest Colorado, approximately nine miles southeast of Hayden <br />in Routt County. The Seneca II Mine lies 7 miles east of the Seneca II-W Mine, Permit No. C-82- <br />057, and 4 miles east of the Yoast Mine, Permit No. C-94-082. The mining area can be found on the <br />Milner Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series Map. Elevations at the mine site range from 6,600 feet to 8,100 <br />feet above mean sea level. <br />The specific area for this bond release request is located in T6N, R87W; Portions of Sections 27, 34, 35 <br />and makes up a large portion of the Pre-Law area contained within the Seneca II Mine permit boundary. <br />The bond release request area is shown on Exhibit A of the bond release application. There are other <br />Pre-Law areas within the permit boundary but these were not requested for release with this bond <br />release application. The Pre-Law bond release area requested is 259.1 acres located where the Wadge <br />Coal seam was mined using area strip techniques. Area strip mining techniques used in the Pre-Law <br />area included vegetation removal, removal of overburden, fragmentation and removal of coal, spoils <br />grading, and revegetation. The Wadge pit in this location was mined to depths of 100 feet. Surface <br />disturbance included surface mining pits and the permanent Sediment Pond 002 referred to as the <br />"Wadge Impoundment". There were no other mine-related structures or facilities at this location. <br />Mining started in 1972 and coal removal was completed in this locale prior to August 3, 1977 (the <br />date the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act passed). During active mining operations, the <br />coal from the Seneca II Mine was hauled over county and private roadways by a private hauler to the <br />Hayden Station Power Plant operated by Public Service of Colorado. <br />Mining operations have been completed at the Seneca II Mine. With exception of the Wolf Creek <br />Pre-Law Area and East Wadge Pit area, all disturbed areas of the mine have been fully reclaimed. <br />The DRMS delineated 67.4 of the Wolf Creek Pre-Law area and 125.8 acres of the East Wadge Pit <br />area as requiring corrective actions in order to secure bond release (see proposed Decision and <br />Findings of Compliance for Phase I Bond Release SL-01 dated December 27, 2006). A remediation <br />plan has been developed by SCC for the Wolf Creek Pre-Law area and was incorporated into the <br />permit application package (PAP) via Minor Revision Number 57. Technical Revision Number 41 <br />was approved by the DRMS to address erosion and instability in the East Wadge Pit area. The <br />remediation plan is being implemented in the Wolf Creek Pre-Law area but the corrective action plan <br />