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I. PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS
<br />The Roadside Portals (formerly known as the Roadside and Cameo Mines) is an underground coal
<br />mining operation located in Mesa County, approximately three miles northeast of Palisade, Colorado,
<br />adjacent to Interstate 70 and the Colorado River, at the Cameo exit in DeBeque Canyon. Although
<br />the official status of the operation is "Active", there has been no coal extraction at the mine since
<br />December 1999. The operation includes the South Portal Area and associated facilities and mine
<br />workings located east of I-70 and the Colorado River, the North Portal Area and associated facilities
<br />and workings including coal waste disposal sites located to the west of I-70 and the Colorado River,
<br />and the Unit Train Loadout, also located to the west of I-70 and the Colorado River. With the
<br />exception of the train loadout facility, ongoing activity is limited to monitoring, maintenance, and
<br />reclamation. The train loadout facility is approved for storage and rail loading and unloading of
<br />construction materials.
<br />The Xcel Energy Cameo Power Plant, which was a customer for coal from the Roadside Portals when
<br />the mine was operating, is located just south of the North Portal facilities, on the west side of the
<br />river.
<br />Underground mining operations using modern, mechanized methods began in 1974, and continued,
<br />under various operators and with several periods of temporary inactivity, until final cessation of coal
<br />extraction in December 1999. Between 1974 and 1999, approximately 242 acres of surface lands
<br />were disturbed in conjunction with the operation, which produced up to 70,000 tons of clean coal per
<br />month. Including areas overlying underground workings, approximately 3,524 acres were affected by
<br />the operation, within the 10,310 acre permit area. During the period of operations, coal was produced
<br />from both portals. South Portal operations ceased in early 1997, and all coal production was shifted
<br />to the North Portal. Mining ceased at the North Portal on December 2, 1999. Both the North and
<br />South Portals were subsequently sealed and reclamation was initiated shortly thereafter. There are no
<br />plans for future coal extraction at the operation, and reclamation is scheduled to be fully completed by
<br />2009.
<br />Following Division approval of bond release request SL-03 in October 2007 releasing full reclamation
<br />liability on 7,294 acres, the permit area now encompasses approximately 3016 acres. The remaining
<br />acreage in the permit boundary include all surface disturbance areas associated with above ground
<br />mine operations, reclamation, and ancillary facilities, including environmental monitoring site
<br />locations. SCC applied for this Phase I bond release of 18 acres (SL-04) under the Colorado Surface
<br />Coal Mining and Reclamation Act following reclamation of the South Portals Area.
<br />The mine is located in Mesa County, Colorado on lands included within:
<br />Portions of Sections 26, 27, 28, 34, and 35, T1 0S, R98W, 6th PM; Portions of Sections 1, 2, 11, 12, and
<br />13, TI IS, R98W, 6th PM; and Portions of Section 7, TI IS, R97W, 6th PM.
<br />The location of these sections is contained within the U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute Cameo and
<br />Palisade Quadrangle maps.
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