2010-04-05_REPORT - C1982057 ‎(3)‎

• Permit No: C1982057
• IBM Index Class Name: REPORT
• Doc Date: 4/5/2010
• Doc Name: 2009 Annual Revegetation Monitoring Report
• From: Seneca Coal Company
• To: DRMS
• Permit Index Doc Type: Reveg Monitoring Report
• Email Name: DTM
• Email Name: SB1
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

averaged 0.6, 31.4, 32.0 and 0.2 percent, respectively. Average species density was 21.8
species per 100sq. m.
•
DISCUSSION
Climatic Conditions
The year preceding sampling in July 2009 included a dry fall and moderately winter of 2008. The
spring and early summer of 2009 was mostly average (Figures 5a and 5b). When compared to
other years in which monitoring has occurred back to 1987, the cumulative 12 months total
precipitation prior to sampling ranked 2009 near the lower middle of the 23 years of record for
April, with total precipitation amounts increasing significantly (to above average amounts) by July
(Figures 6a and 6b). Total precipitation for the previous six months was slightly above average
for the period of record back to 1987 for the month of July (Figure 7a and 7b). The cumulative
four month precipitation values back to 1987 (Figure 8b) show that 2009 was still slightly above
the 23-year average. With regard to temperature, cumulative January through June 2009 warmth
was above average (Figure 9).
Assessment of BRB for Compliance with Phase ll Performance Standards
• The data from 2009 sampling of a potential Phase Bond Release Block application satisfied
hypothesis testing of the proposition that BRB allowable herbaceous cover exceeded 90% of the
standard (31.1% allowable cover). The figure for allowable cover in the 2009 Phase II BRB
(46.3%) is the result of subtracting tree, shrub and non-herbaceous cover and perennial noxious
weed cover and "excess annual/biennial cover" (which includes the non-allowable cover by
houndstongue, Canada thistle and bull thistle) from the observed first-hit total vegetation cover.
A reverse t-test of the assertion that the 2009 Phase II BRB allowable cover is indistinguishable
from 90% of the standard is as follows:
tc =(46.3-31.1)/(13.6/sgrt 60)=8.6
Since critical t = 0.848 (one-tailed, alpha = 0.2, 59 do and t, is greater than this critical value,
reclamation success for Phase II is demonstrated.
Woody Plant Density
Figure 2 graphically presents "background" shrub density averages for the reclaimed area
• sampled in 2009. As can be seen, the 2009 sampling area exceeds the overall average density
requirement of >_ 180 (90% of 200) stems per acre. Although no shrub concentration areas have
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