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WFC has a self-bond in place for the reclamation of the New Horizon Mine in the amount of <br />$4,000,000.00. This application pertains to a reduction in the bond liability only and no release <br />of any money is requested or proposed. <br />Comments regarding the proposed bond release request were received from Ward E. Burbridge on <br />June 13, 2008. Mr. Burbridge's property falls within Area 2 of the proposed Phase II bond release, <br />and he objected to the Phase II release. Mr. Burbridge was concerned about the presence of several <br />"sinkholes" that have developed over time on his reclaimed property. Backfilling and grading was <br />accomplished on the Burbridge parcel in 1999, 2000 and 2001. In October 2002, the Division <br />approved Phase I bond release for the area of concern under SL-08. During the SL-11 inspection, <br />the Division determined that although some amount of differential settlement has occurred, it is to <br />be anticipated with time, especially on lands that are irrigated. The postmining productivity appears <br />to have increased over premining productive acreage. No further action is recommended at this <br />time. <br />No other written objections or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release <br />application were received by the Division. <br />The Division scheduled and conducted a bond release inspection on August 25, 2008. The site <br />inspection was conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Marcia Talvitie and Sandra Brown of <br />the Division; Tom Fry, Mine Engineering Technician; and Ross Gubka, Chief Engineer for WFC <br />attended the inspection. Mr. Mel Staats attended the office briefing and participated during the <br />inspection on his property. None of the other land owners of record attended the inspection; <br />however, all land owners were notified of the inspection via certified mail. <br />SL-11 Adequacy Issues <br />Adequacy questions were raised by the Division during the inspection and separate adequacy <br />correspondence letters were sent to WFC on October 10, 2008 and February 25, 2009. All <br />adequacy concerns have been addressed. <br />The original Map R-2 (2008 Phase 2 Bond Release Map) submitted with the application for SL- <br />11 included segments of BB Road and 2700 Road which had been reconstructed, surfaced with <br />road base, and opened to the public, although were not yet paved with asphalt. A segment of 51h <br />Road between the mine office and Pond 007 was also depicted on the original Phase II map. The <br />text of the application made no reference to the roads, and no legal description of the roadways <br />was provided. Montrose County Road and Bridge was not provided with Notice of the <br />upcoming bond release request, and the application did not contain written confirmation from the <br />County documenting that the roads have been constructed to meet County specifications. The <br />October 10, 2008 Preliminary Adequacy Review letter addressed these questions. WFC's <br />response to the review eliminated all mention of County Roads from the Phase II bond release, <br />and the roads were withdrawn from the SL-11 application. The change was acknowledged by <br />the Division in its February 25, 2009 adequacy review letter. WFC will submit a separate Phase <br />II and III bond release application for the roadways after they have been paved and the company <br />has received written confirmation from Montrose County that the work is acceptable. <br />5