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STATE OF COLORADO
<br />DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY
<br />Department of Natural Resources
<br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215
<br />Denver, Colorado 80203 C O L O RA D O
<br />
<br />Phone: (303) 866-3567 D IV I S I ON OF
<br />RECLAMATION
<br />FAX: (303) 832-8106 MINING
<br />November 5, 2009
<br /> SAFETY
<br />Kit Page, District Manager
<br />Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners Bill Ritter, Jr.
<br />Southwest District Governor
<br />P.O. Box 88 Harris D. Sherman
<br />305 Murphy Drive, Suite A Executive Director
<br />Alamosa, CO 81101 Ronald W. Cattany
<br />Division Director
<br />Re: Termination of Jurisdiction for the Coal Gulch Mine, DRMS File C-84-067 Natural Resource Trustee
<br />Dear Sir or Madam
<br />The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (Division) is initiating the process of terminating its jurisdiction
<br />over the reclaimed Coal Gulch Mine. The Coal Gulch Mine was an underground coal mine where mining activities were
<br />most recently conducted under mining and reclamation permit C-84-067, which was revoked in 1988. The site is located in
<br />La Plata County, Colorado, 4.5 miles west of the town of Durango, next to U.S. Highway 160 on the north side of the road.
<br />The permit area is located on private and state lands in portions of NW%NW%, N%2 SW%NW '/ Section 22, N%2NW'/,
<br />and NE % Section 21, and Section 16, all located in T35N, RIOW, of the New Mexico Principal Meridian. Coal ownership
<br />is private and state. The permit area encompassed 725 acres, of which 16.5 acres of land surface were disturbed.
<br />The mining and reclamation permit number for this site was C-84-067. The site was permitted in 1984 by Peerless
<br />Resources Inc. who disturbed 16.5 acres on the site in preparation for underground mining, but ceased operations prior to
<br />excavating a portal and underground entries. Some coal was surface-mined when the coal seam was exposed. The Mined
<br />Land Reclamation Board revoked permit C-84-067 in January 1988 and ordered forfeiture of the $140,000 reclamation bond
<br />in September 1990.
<br />The Division reclaimed the disturbed area on the Coal Gulch site in September 1994 using all of the funds from the forfeited
<br />bond. Reclamation work included: backfilling as much of the exposed mine highwall as funds allowed, allowing natural
<br />drainage from the existing gulches to pass through "French" drains at the foot of Coal Gulch, backfilling exposed coal
<br />seams, topsoiling and revegetating the disturbed area, and regrading and revegetating for treatment of mine water discharge
<br />from a portal on the site from a pre-law mine portal. The Division had the site sprayed for thistle in 2001. No additional
<br />funds are available for site maintenance.
<br />Successful achievement of reclamation of the site has been demonstrated during the last 15 years by: stability of slopes;
<br />local successful revegetation of grasses, forbs, and shrubs; lack of noxious weeds on most of the site; minimization of
<br />impacts to the hydrologic balance within the previously permitted area; and prevention of material damage to the hydrologic
<br />balance outside of the permitted area.
<br />Written comments, objections, and requests for an informal conference or a formal public hearing before the Colorado
<br />Mined Land Reclamation Board may be submitted to the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology at the address above
<br />within 30 days of the site inspection that will be conducted for this termination of jurisdiction. If you have any questions,
<br />comments, or concerns regarding this termination of jurisdiction, please contact the Colorado Division of Reclamation,
<br />Mining and Safety at 1313 Sherman St, Room 215, Denver, Colorado, 80203 or call (303) 866-3567, extension 8128.
<br />Sincerely,
<br />7-,v,,, 164,
<br />Tom Kaldenbach
<br />Environmental Protection Specialist
<br />Office of Office of _
<br />Mined Land Reclamation Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines
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