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acres of the main facility and associated disturbance. <br />Dollar Amount of Bond Release Request <br />The Division currently holds corporate surety bond #64S103557518BCM in the amount of <br />$206,634.00 from Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America. The applicant is <br />requesting $115,298.14 be released if this bond release is approved. <br />III. DESCRIPTION OF THE BOND RELEASE PROCESS <br />Detailed information about the bond release review process can be found in the Colorado <br />Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act, the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Board for Coal Mining, and in the Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mine <br />Bond Release Issues, dated April 18, 1995. Detailed information about mining and <br />reclamation operations at the Golden Eagle Mine can be found in mining and reclamation <br />permit application C-81-013 on file at the Division offices, located at 1313 Sherman Street, <br />Room 215, in Denver, Colorado. <br />Peak Project Management submitted this Phase III bond release request (SL-06) on <br />behalf of Basin Resources Inc. (BRI). At the time of the submission of the application, <br />the permittee was BRI. However, the current permittee is New Elk Coal Company, LLC <br />as the result of transfer of permit (SO-02) approved on April 29, 2008. <br />This bond release application was received by the Division on September 20, 2006. <br />Included with the application was a proof of publication of the public notice required by <br />Rule 3.03.2(1)(b). The public notice was published on August 8, 16, 23, and 30, 2006 in <br />The Chronicle-News. Also included as part of the application were copies of certified <br />letters sent to surface landowners within the permit area, adjacent landowners to the <br />permit area, and applicable State and local agencies. As required by Rule 3.03.2(1)(d), <br />the Division called the application complete on September 29, 2006. <br />Two objections were received by the Division regarding the bond release. Both <br />objections were forwarded to the applicant on October 30, 2006 as required by Rule <br />3.03.3(2). <br />The first objection was received on October 16, 2006 from Mr. John Toupal of 14600 <br />Highway 12, an adjacent landowner to the Golden Eagle permit area. Mr. Toupal's <br />complaint was related to areas of methane contamination in the soil on his pastureland. <br />This issue was originally identified in September 1996 and has been monitored and <br />investigated since that time by Basin Resources, the Colorado Oil and Gas <br />Conservation Commission, and the Division. Mr. Toupal requested no bond be <br />released until testing is complete and a determination has been made regarding the <br />source of the methane contamination. For more discussion, please refer to the portion <br />of these written findings under Part V below, Observations and Findings. <br />A second objection was received by the Division on October 20, 2006 from Mr. Jim <br />Tatum, also an adjacent landowner to the Golden Eagle Mine. Mr. Tatum objected to