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ENT OF <br />A? <br />'J1gRCH_3 tiep <br />Sandra L. Brown <br />1 6 APR 2010_ <br />Sr. Environmental Protection Specialist <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Rm. 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Dear Ms. Brown, <br />7 <br />F wx?/ <br />RFCrr.VVED <br />APR 2 0 2010 <br />Division of r Sa?? #W' <br />Wiling 2rd On March 29, 2010, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) received a citizen complaint from Ms. <br />JoEllen Turner raising several concerns with the permit and reclamation at the New Horizon <br />mine. As a result of that citizen complaint, OSM issued a ten day notice (TDN) to the Division of <br />Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) pursuant to 30 CFR Part 842 identifying a potential <br />violation. The TDN, dated April 1, 2010, is described below. <br />TDN #X10-140-182-003: Permit must require coal mining operations to restore affected land to <br />a condition capable of supporting the uses which it was capable of supporting prior to any <br />mining activity. <br />The statute believed to have been violated was Colorado SCMRA 34-33-120. Ms. Turner <br />claimed in her complaint that her farmland had not been restored to cropland standards. She <br />stated that DRMS had not yet addressed her prime farmland or developed a reclamation plan to <br />restore her farm to cropland. <br />DRMS's Response to the TDN <br />DRMS responded to the TDN by letter dated April 15, 2010. In this letter, DRMS requested an <br />additional ten days to complete its review and determine if a violation of the State program <br />exists. The extension was requested due to the complexity of the review. <br />Standard for Reviewing Responses to TDN's <br />After receiving a response from DRMS, OSM shall determine in writing whether the standards <br />for appropriate action or good cause for such failure have been met. An action or response from <br />DRMS that is not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion under the state program shall be <br />considered "appropriate action" if it causes a violation to be corrected or "good cause" if it <br />shows valid reason for failure to take such action. <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />Western Region Office <br />1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />As defined under 30 CFR 842.11(b)(3) & (4), "Appropriate action" includes enforcement or <br />other action authorized under the State program to cause a violation to be corrected. "Good