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TDN Response <br />New Horizon Mine <br />April 23, 2010 <br />Page 4 <br />operations on the Morgan property in order to ensure preservation of prime farmland soils and to <br />implement the sampling and testing program for evaluating subsoil and topsoil replaced on those areas <br />already mined. <br />Permit Renewal No. 5 (RN -5) was received on November 13, 2007 and was determined to be <br />complete on November 27, 2007. The Public Notice appeared in the San Miguel Basin Forum on <br />December 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2007. A notification of the permit renewal was also sent to the NRCS <br />office in Delta, Colorado. In response to the Public Notice, objection letters were received from Frank <br />and Mary Lou Morgan, JoEllen Turner, and from three other local citizens. Each letter primarily <br />objected to the concurrent TR -55 (addressed below), but also referred to the Permit Renewal. <br />It was in December 2007, during the public notice periods for TR -55 and RN -5, that Ms. Turner first <br />started calling the Division regarding concerns about Prime Farmland on the Morgan property. As a <br />result of her calls and correspondence, the Division further evaluated the soils information in the <br />permit and re- evaluated the Prime Farmland Designation. The Division contacted the NRCS by letter <br />dated January 14, 2008 to request their assistance. <br />The Division's RN -5 preliminary adequacy comments with respect to land use, revegetation and <br />topsoil were provided to WFC in a letter dated January 14, 2008. The letter requested that WFC <br />submit a permit revision application to address the issues of pre- mining land use, post- mining land use, <br />topsoil salvage and replacement, and revegetation no later than March 17, 2008. A proposed decision <br />regarding the RN -5 application was delayed until the issues addressing the soil management on prime <br />farmlands were resolved through Technical Revision No. 57 (TR -57). TR -57 is discussed in more <br />detail below. A proposed decision for RN -5 was issued on August 24, 2009. However, there were <br />prime farmland issues remaining and therefore two Stipulations were attached to the Findings for RN -5 <br />as follows: <br />STIPULATION NO. 16 <br />WITHIN 30 DAYS FOLLOWING ISSUANCE OF THE FINAL DECISION FOR <br />PERMIT RENEWAL NO. 5, THE PERMITTEE WILL SUBMIT A PERMIT <br />REVISION APPLICATION TO THE DIVISION THAT INCLUDES <br />COMPREHENSIVE AMENDMENTS TO THE SITE DESCRIPTION AND LAND <br />USE, VEGETATION INFORMATION, PRIME FARMLAND INVESTIGATION, <br />REVEGETATON, POSTMINING LAND USES, AND PRIME FARMLANDS <br />SECTIONS OF THE PERMIT APPLICATION. AT A MINIMUM, THE REVISION <br />APPLICATION WILL SUBSTANTIVELY ADDRESS ALL OUTSTANDING <br />CONCERNS IDENTIFIED BY THE DIVISION IN REVIEW LETTERS AND <br />MEMORANDA DATED DECEMBER 23, 2005, NOVEMBER 6, 2006, DECEMBER <br />7, 2007, AND JANUARY 14, 2008. <br />STIPULATION NO. 17 <br />UNLESS THE PERMITTEE DEMONSTRATES THAT SOME PORTION OF THE <br />107.96 ACRE AREA OF PRESUMED PRIME FARMLAND ON THE MORGAN <br />PROPERTY WITHIN THE PERMIT AREA DOES NOT MEET PRIME <br />