2007-06-27_REVISION - C1980005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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V Mr. Mike Boulay Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety Page 2 2. SCC it requesting full bond release on 259.1 acres in the Draft Pre-Lase Area Bond Release Request. In general we agre e with the proposal to spread the bond monies out over the entire Pre-Law area, as proposed in the draft application. The 259.1 acres proposed for full bond release were released from Phase I bond liability in 2006. Final bond release should be attainable in the 259.1 acres ofpre- law lands once the Division has received appropriate documentation as described below for deeming the application complete. Response: The inclusion of the Pre-Law area in the original Phase I Bond Release Request was a concept that was not fully thought out by SCC or the Division. In retrospect, the area should not have been included because the SMCRA rules and regulations do not apply. SCC understands that the bond held by the Division is a reclamation liability bond, therefore when liability is released on specific acres, the money associated should also be released. However, even though the Division released liability on the 295.1 acres of Pre-Law area in the previous Phase I Bond Release Request the decision is not relevant since this area does not fall under the three phased bond release program. The formal Pre-Law Area Bond Release Application contains the requested updated information and documentation to allow the Division to make the appropriate determination. 3. Page 3 of the application provides bond release documentation but this consists solely of a review of the applicable reclamation law. Several Exhibits were also submitted including a post-mine topography map and profile in Exhibits E and F, respectively. At a minimum the following additional documentation is required. • Topsoil Replacement - Document what topsoil replacement, if any was done. The area of mining within this Pre-Law parcel was disturbed before this requirement came into effect. Therefore no topsoil was salvaged or replaced on the Pre-Law disturbance. However there was a haul road constructed across the center of the pre-law mined area to provide access to ongoing mining. This haul road, approximately 8.2 acres, was regraded and topsoil replaced at a depth of one (1) foot. This topsoil came from areas disturbed after August 3, 1977. Document vegetative cover and production in accordance with the approved vegetation evaluation procedures which were revised and updated for the Pre-Law Area (essentially BBB-1) with Technical Revision 40 approved March 27, 2007. Lands within BRB- 1 fall under the requirements of the Colorado Open Cut Mining Land Reclamation Act of 1969 and 1973 that had very similar revegetation requirements. Evaluation of the BRB-1 area is proposed in the form of a qualitative description with very limited quantitative vegetation sampling. The approved sampling design schedule isgiven on page 13-13-3 of the permit document. In order for the Division to find the application complete the sampling data and qualitative description demonstrating compliance with the 1969 and 1973 Acts will need to be included in the bond release application. Quantitative sampling of the Pre-Law area was conducted in July 2005 by ESCO Associates. Following is a summary of the results: Cover: Total average vegetation cover was 34 percent. For herbaceous vegetation, total average cover was 31.2 percent. Average species density was 10 species per 100 sq.m. Production: Total herbaceous production was 1,631 pounds per acre. Woody Plant Density Total average woody plant density was 890 stems per acre. The detailed results are contained in the 2005 Seneca II Revegetation Monitoring Report and the Pre-Law Area Bond Release Request - Attachment D, 2005 Revegetation Monitoring Results.