2008-02-15_REVISION - C1981008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Define Prime Farmland handling (detailed two lift salvage, storage, and replacement procedures) for areas where soil has not yet been stripped in advance of the pit; address compliance with prime farmland soil handling regulations. Soil handling plan will include clear description of defining characteristics to allow operator to properly segregate top lift from second lift in the field, and to define limit of salvage for the 2"d lift. • Define Prime Farmland handling for areas where mining has previously occurred and are currently either active disturbance or regraded but not yet topsoiled. Operator will identify appropriate Prime Farmland subsoil suitability criteria and provide a plan for sampling of graded spoil (initial 1 sample per 2.5 acre grid) to demonstrate suitability (with NRCS input). Plan will need to meet Prime Farmland handling regulations to the extent possible, given the cun~ent circumstances. For areas where spoil is unsuitable for Prime Farmland subsoil, remediation plan will be developed. • A detailed soil handling plan will also be developed for non-prime farmland soils • A revised soi:i block replacement map will be included in the application, addressing both Prime and non-Prime Farmland soils replacement. Non-Prime soil replacement blocks will be reflective of pre-mine soil conditions and planned postmining use (e.g. Dryland Pasture, Irrigated Pasture, or "Irrigable/Improved" pasture. • Interim Soil Handling for Prime Farmland soil (prior to approval of TR-57) will entail two lift salvage acid segregation of top lift and second lift, as described in the Division's PR-5 Findings Document. The calcic horizon (the distinctive lighter colored subsoil with elevated calcium carbonate) beneath the darker "topsoil", typically defines the top of the 2"d lift for soil salvage. Measures will be taken to avoid or minimize handling of soils under conditions (e.g. frozen or wet surface soil) that would potentially damage soil physical characteristics. Any handling; under such conditions would be limited to pushing top lift and second lift soils into separate windrows to allow necessary room for the next pit cut advance. The Permit Revision. to be submitted some time after the TR will address the broader range of land use and revegetation issues, many of which have been the subject of on-going review for several years, and have been addressed in midterm and technical revision review letters by the Division and also in a comment letter from Jim Boyd of NRCS, and numerous letters from permit area landowners. One of the critical issues will involve the issue of the appropriate ratio of irrigation water shares to acres of land for prudent management of irrigated cropland and irrigated pastureland. There is agreement between Jim Boyd and WFC that, for irrigated alfalfa cropland, between 50 and 60 acres can be irrigated with 50 shares of water (approximately a 1:1 ratio, which would also likely be close to the appropriate ratio for irrigated pastureland). Generally, for areas that were irrigated prior to mining, and where irrigation water is available for irrigation during and after the liability period, the amount of irrigated land should follow this approximate ratio. One exception will likely be the WFC owned parcel which was irrigated prior to acquisition, and which WFC will likely propose to restore to dryland pasture (one +/- 3 acre parcel of Prime Farmland Soil may be need to be irrigated and restored to Prime Farmland Condition, depending on NRCS determination). An approach discus:>ed for lands that may have been irrigated prior to mining, but for which water rights are not available or are insufficient, would be to restore lands to an "improved/irrigable"