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Bond Releases since the last Midterm Review (January 2007) <br />Revision Number Description Date <br />SL-06 Phase III Bond Release August 2008 <br />Summary <br />The Review Process <br />In a letter dated September 10, 2008, the Division notified New Elk Coal Company LLC <br />(NECC) that the Division must receive a complete application for renewal of an existing <br />permit no later than December 24, 2008. On December 2, 2008, the Division received <br />an application from NECC. The application was determined to be complete on <br />December 12, 2008 and appropriate State and Federal agencies were notified of this <br />application, including a request for comments to be submitted to the Division within 30 <br />days from the completeness notification. <br />The Colorado Division of Wildlife did respond and confirmed the absence of any <br />threatened or endangered species within the permit or adjacent area. No other written <br />comments were received from any other State or Federal agency. The reclamation <br />bond is statutorily limited as a result of Surety Release No. 6 (SL-06) and fixed at <br />$72,099.00. This amount is well in excess of an amount necessary to complete any <br />remaining reclamation, including the sealing of six monitoring wells. All areas have <br />been reclaimed and should revegetation fail at the 1.2 acre NW-1 ventilation shaft, the <br />bond amount is more than sufficient to mitigate that situation. <br />The applicant published notice of the permit renewal in the Chronicle News once a <br />week for four weeks, beginning on March 18, 2009 and ending on April 6, 2009. The <br />Applicant Violator System was queried on March 27, 2009 for the applicant, New Elk <br />Coal Company, LLC. The system returned a recommendation of issue. The Division <br />had no adequacy concerns and forwarded a letter indicating such to the applicant on <br />February 10, 2009. The Applicant Violator System was again queried on May 4, 2009 <br />for the applicant, New Elk Coal Company, LLC. The system again returned a <br />recommendation of issue. The Division received proof of publication of the applicant's <br />completeness public notice on May 5, 2009 as required by Rule 2.08.5(2)(b)(ii). <br />Mine History and the Environment <br />The Golden Eagle Mine is located in Las Animas County, Colorado approximately 23 <br />miles west of Trinidad along State Highway 12. The Golden Eagle mine began <br />operations under the name of the Maxwell Mine, originally permitted and operated by <br />Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation (CF&I). In January of 1984, Wyoming Fuels, a KN <br />Energy subsidiary, purchased the mine. In March of 1993, the permittee and operator <br />changed to Basin Resources, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entech, Inc., and a <br />subsidiary of Montana Power Company. Due to difficult mining conditions and <br />5