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The Marr Strip Mine produced coal from the Sudduth seam with a truck-and-shovel operation. <br />Coal was extracted from two pits, the 720 Pit and Pit 1. Coal extraction from the 720 Pit ceased <br />in 1983 and from Pit 1 in 1993. Total disturbed lands at the Marr Strip Mine and Loadout were <br />401.4 acres according to the 2007 Annual Reclamation Report (ARR). As described in the 2007 <br />ARR, the following table summarizes the total disturbance at the Marr Mine and loadout. The <br />lands included in this table are categorized by current use and/or state of reclamation. <br />Mine Area <br />Revegetated 1999 8.0 <br />Facilities, Roads and Sediment Control 40.1 <br />Reclaimed pre-1999 341.6 <br />Total 389.7 <br />Loadout Area <br />Revegetated 1999 6.9 <br />Permanent structures; Facilities and Roads, 4.6 <br />Sediment Control to be reclaimed 0.2 <br />Total 11.7 <br />Active mining operations and related activities were suspended and final reclamation activities <br />were initiated at the end of January 1993. Final backfilling, regrading, topsoiling, and mulch <br />crop seeding of the major remaining disturbance areas including the Pit 1 area and road and pond <br />areas were completed during 1995. Final reclamation seeding of these areas, minor <br />supplemental drainage protection work, and revegetation success evaluations were completed <br />during 1996. Site activities during 1997 were limited to required site inspection and <br />maintenance including routine cleaning of ditches and culverts and spraying for noxious weed <br />control. <br />During the active operations, coal was trucked to the Kerr tipple, south of Walden, where it was <br />stockpiled, crushed, screened, and loaded out. The facility was constructed on fill in the <br />wetlands of the Illinois River and encompasses nine acres. The rail lines were pulled out by the <br />railroad company in June 1996. Coal stockpiled at the loadout was removed in September 1996. <br />In 1998, Kerr Coal Company dismantled some of the buildings at the loadout. The reclamation <br />for the loadout area (backfilling and grading) was completed in 1999. The warehouse/office, <br />powerpoles, water well, and access road at the loadout are approved as permanent features. The <br />sediment pond and associated ditches are required to be reclaimed prior to final bond release. <br />During 2002, Kerr Coal Company coordinated with the Division, the Bureau of Land <br />Management, and the Office of Surface Mining to identify, plug, seal, and reclaim a number of <br />old exploration boreholes and alluvial monitoring wells, located primarily in the Kerr North Area <br />north of County Road 12E. This work was completed in October 2002. Twenty-five bedrock <br />wells and 20 alluvial wells were successfully sealed and reclaimed on lands drilled by the Kerr <br />Coal Company. <br />3