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bond money forfeited to the State of Colorado was used to complete necessary <br />reclamation at the site. <br />Inspection History <br />The Trinidad Basin Mine was inspected on a monthly frequency until the fall of <br />1998, when the inspection frequency was reduced to four inspections each year <br />(one being a complete inspection) as allowed by Rule 5.05.2(8). All written <br />inspections are part of the document record at this site. Formal bond release <br />inspections as required by Rule 3.03.2(2) were conducted on September 16 and <br />November 5, 2009. <br />III. CRITERIA AND SCHEDULE FOR BOND RELEASE <br />PHASE I <br />Rule 3.03.1(2)(a) states, "Up to sixty percent of the applicable bond amount shall be <br />released when the permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, and drainage <br />control in accordance with the approved reclamation plan." A Phase I bond release for <br />the site was approved in August 1986. <br />PHASE H <br />Rule 3.03.1(2)(b) states, "Up to eighty-five percent of the applicable bond amount shall <br />be released upon the establishment of vegetation which supports the approved post- <br />mining land use and which meets the approved success standard for cover... based on <br />statistically valid data collected during a single year of the liability period". In regard to <br />Phase II bond release, Rule 3.03.2(3)(b) also states, " No more than sixty (60) percent <br />of the bond shall be released so long as the lands to which the release would be <br />applicable are contributing suspended solids to stream flow or runoffoutside the permit <br />area in excess of pre-mining levels as determined by baseline data or in excess of levels <br />determined on adjacent non-mined areas". <br />PHASE III <br />Rule 3.03.1(2)(c) states that the final portion of performance bond, "shall be released <br />when the permittee has successfully completed all surface coal mining reclamation <br />operations in accordance with this approved reclamation plan, and the final <br />inspection procedures of 3.03.2 have been satisfied. This shall not be before the <br />expiration of the period specified for revegetation responsibility in 3.02.3." Rule <br />3.03.1(4) states, "No bond shall be fully released until all reclamation requirements of <br />these Rules and the Act are fully met..." The same rule goes on to state, "No acreage <br />shall be released from the permit area until all surface coal mining and reclamation <br />operations on that acreage have been completed in accordance with the approved <br />12