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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 />May 5, 2005 <br />Mr. David A. Berry <br />Director, Office of Mined Land Reclamation <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />RE: Ten Day Notice X10-140-182-003 <br /> <br /> <br />MAY 0 UZ010 <br />Qsviolol ) Oi ?twlfon <br />We received your response to Ten Day Notice (TDN) X10-140-182-003 on April 23, 2010. The <br />TDN was issued in response to a citizen complaint received from Ms. JoEllen Turner of Nucla, <br />Colorado. Ms. Turner is primarily concerned with the Morgan property that is included in <br />Western Fuels' New Horizon surface mine. Ms. Turner's complaint covers procedural concerns <br />as well as pre- and post-mining land use, soil salvaging and redistribution, and prime farmland <br />considerations. Besides concerns contained in her official citizen complaint, Ms. Turner <br />telefaxed related concerns almost daily. She is also concerned with the requirements for <br />handling the subsoil below the topsoil. Because of the extent of Ms. Turner's complaints the <br />alleged violation contained in the TDN is that the permit and reclamation of the Morgan property <br />does not meet the requirements of the Colorado regulatory program. <br />In your response, you maintain that the Division has taken appropriate action under its regulatory <br />program to ensure that Western Fuels-Colorado (WFC) is in compliance with Permit No. C- <br />1981-008 and the requirements of the State program. Based on an extensive review of the <br />permit file, you determined that you had good cause for the actions taken with regard to Permit <br />No. C-1981-008. The current permit addresses prime farmlands, ensures protection of soils and <br />evaluates pre- and post-mining land uses. You provided a chronology of permitting actions and <br />decisions for the New Horizon Mine that impact the Morgan property. <br />In our review of your response we considered whether the terms of the permit properly <br />implement the requirements of the Colorado regulatory program and whether mining and <br />reclamation has been conducted in accordance with the approved permit. <br />The Morgan property was included in the New Horizon Mine permit boundary with the issuance <br />of Permit Revision No. 5 (PR-5) on June 1, 2000. The Division provided appropriate public <br />notice and responded to several inquiries. There were no objections to the Division's notice of <br />its final decision on PR-5.