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Midterm Review <br />Seneca II-W Mine, Permit No. C-82-057 <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This document presents the results of the Division's midterm review of the Seneca Coal Company LLC, <br />Seneca II-W Mine permit. This review was conducted to fulfill the requirements of Rules 2.08.3, 2.06.2(10), <br />2.06.3(4), 2.06.5(3), 2.06.7(5), and 3.02.2(4). The current permit renewal proposed decision was issued July <br />3, 2006. The approval became final on August 16, 2006. The current permit term expires December 31, <br />2010. <br />Rule 2.08.3 requires that the Division conduct a review of each permit issued prior to its mid-term. Based on <br />this review, for good cause shown, the Division may require reasonable revision or modification of the permit <br />provisions to ensure compliance with the Act and Regulations (see Section IV). <br />Rules 2.06.2, 2.06.3, 2.06.5 and 2.06.7 require that experimental practices, mountaintop removal variances, <br />steep slope variances from approximate original contour (AOC), and variances from contemporaneous <br />reclamation for combined surface and underground mining, be reviewed by the Division where applicable, <br />during the midterm review. The Seneca II-W permit does not incorporate experimental practices, <br />mountaintop removal, or any variances from AOC. However, the permit does include variances from <br />contemporaneous reclamation (see Section V). <br />Rule 3.02.2(4) requires that the Division review the amount of the bond and the terms of acceptance of the <br />bond every 2 1/2 years (see Section VI). <br />This midterm review consisted of a detailed review of the Seneca II-W Mine permit application, the most <br />recent permit renewal (RN-4) Findings Document, and revisions and stipulation responses processed <br />subsequent to the July 3, 2006 RN-4 proposed decision date, to ensure compliance with all permit <br />commitments and conditions. Problems and observations from past inspection reports were also <br />considered. <br />The document is organized as follows: Section I is a brief review of mine status and history. Section II <br />summarizes revisions to the permit since the last midterm review, and Section III summarizes the status of <br />stipulations attached to the permit since the renewal. Section IV sets forth the Division's midterm adequacy <br />review comments and requests for revision. Section V discusses the status of permit variances and specific <br />approvals, and Section VI addresses the current reclamation cost estimate and liability amount, and the <br />adequacy of the current bond amount and bonding instruments.