2010-02-18_REVISION - C1981008 (3)

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• The Meeting of February 18, 2010 at the Fire Hall My name is JoEllen Turner and I am representing and speaking for myself as well as the Morgans. I do talk very loud and sometimes I get louder, I am not yelling nor trying,to offend anyone. I also have emphasized things on paper that I want noted, but I am not yelling on paper either. I am not a public speaker nor have I done any public speaking, but I will try and get my points across as quickly as possible. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was signed by President Carter August 3, 1977 into law. Like most environmental statues passed, SMCRA was a cooperative federalism approach which the states are expected to take the lead in Regulation while the Federal Government oversees their efforts. The state must have laws as strict as the federal government. So, the states issue their own permits, inspect the mines, and take enforcement actions themselves when necessary. State agencies as well as federal require the Operator, which in this case is WFC, to obtain permits before conducting surface mining. They must describe what the pre-mine uses are , how the mine will meet the standards, and the post mine reclamation In this case, the lands in question were all irrigated farmlands and in the pre-mine inspections were documented as such. Any post- mining land use Must be compatible with adjacent land use and any changes that are required for the land by local, state, or federal land management agencies shall be obtained and remain Valid throughout the surface mining operations, which in this case it was permitted for agricultural • purposes and should remain that way, NOT Dryland. Surface Coal Mining Operations and the Reclamation of the land affected by such operations are both necessary and proper In Article 33, the law assures us that the energy needs and the protections of Agricultural productivity are both met In the Pre- Mine stage, the Operator is obligated to lease enough water or provide by other means the amount of water necessary to reclaim agricultural land to the conditions it was prior to the mine entering the property. Articles also state that there should be less destructive methods of Surface Coal Mining operations and better methods of land reclamations. And a more effective reclaimed land use. Section 4,15.11 All areas affected by surface coal mining operations shall be restored in a Timely manner. Remember, we've been out of production for 10 years. They must be restored to (1) Conditions that are capable of supporting the uses which they were capable of supporting before ANY Mining (2) To a higher or better use achievable. We are not asking them to change anything. We are asking that our properties be put back as good as they were and make note here that we had NO DRY LAND on the entire 107 acres. Any Operator who KNOWINGLY makes any False statements, representation, certification, in ANY application, record, report, plan, documentation, permit, can be fined or imprisoned, or both, or fails to mention anything will be subject to the same punishments.. PAGE 1 of Permit-Revision #6. I believe that Most of the Entire Permit-Revision # 6 to be . knowingly and willfully providing false information not only to DRMS, but also to the public.