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Description of the Operations and Reclamation Plan <br />The original mine facilities were constructed in 1977 under the USGS exploration permit, and <br />included the mine bench, portal and face-up developments, and access road. A small coal mine <br />waste disposal site was constructed in the fall of 2004, in lower Munger Canyon. A section of the <br />original access road was re-aligned in 2004 to accommodate development of the waste disposal site, <br />and the road up to the waste disposal area was re-designated as a haul road, to allow for haulage of <br />coal mine waste from State Highway 139 to the disposal site. As of December 2007, the mine has <br />been largely reclaimed; no further mining or mining associated disturbance is proposed or approved. <br />No topsoil was stripped prior to the initial mine bench and access road development. Topsoil was <br />stripped in association with initial phase development of the coal waste disposal area in 2004. <br />Subsoil was also salvaged and separately stockpiled for use as non-toxic refuse cover. Two small <br />additional soil stockpiles were present in the permit area, one on the mine bench, and one adjacent to <br />a lower segment of the access road west of the waste disposal area. These stockpiles resulted from <br />soil material that sloughed from mine bench cut slope areas or accumulated from maintenance of <br />roadside ditches and culvert sumps. The soil in these two stockpiles was used during final <br />reclamation of the mine bench area in the summer of 2007. <br />Final reclamation has been conducted in the mine bench area, portal access road, and waste disposal <br />area. The portals have been sealed and backfilled. Coal material was placed and compacted against <br />the toe of the mine bench cut slope, and the area, of compacted coal fill was subsequently covered <br />over by final reclamation grading operations in 20007. The bench area and upper road segment were <br />backfilled with on site materials, compacted in lifts and graded to blend with surrounding <br />topography. Culverts along the portal access road (canyon segment) were removed and riprapped <br />channels were constructed to tie into natural drainage channels upstream and downstream of the <br />disturbed area. Final graded and topsoiled surfaces were roughened and seeded with a temporary <br />cover crop in June/July 2007, followed by hand broadcasting of the approved permanent seedmix <br />and straw mulch in November 2007. Small area exemption berms and silt fence sediment control <br />measures were installed at the reclaimed mine bench area and lower road topsoil stockpile site. <br />The coal waste disposal site was reclaimed contemporaneously with the portal bench and portal <br />access road in 2007. The lower road segment along the Munger valley floor will be retained for the <br />post-mining land use. During 2007, the road segment to be retained as permanent was properly <br />reduced in width, and sides of the road were ripped and seeded (with the exception of the '/2 mile <br />segment at the lower end of the road, which is privately owned). Future reclamation work will <br />include culvert removal along the permanent road, width reduction along the private land road <br />segment, and reclamation associated with sediment pond removal at the coal waste disposal site. <br />No topsoil was salvaged from the loadout site. This facility previously served as a sugar beet loadout <br />area and is zoned industrial. The approved postmining land use is industrial. The site has been <br />cleaned of coal materials and structures, and has been seeded with an approved stabilization <br />seedmix. A berm has been constructed around the loadout site, and a silt fence has been installed at <br />the low point to control sedimentation. <br />13