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Area strip mining methods included vegetation removal, topsoil stripping, fragmentation and <br />removal of overburden, and fragmentation and removal of coal. Overburden was fragmented with <br />explosives. Bulldozers prepared benches to allow for drilling with a rotary drill. Drill holes were <br />loaded with ANFO (ammonium nitrate - fuel oil) or other approved blasting agents. Fragmented <br />overburden was removed by dragline and spoiled into the previous pit. Coal was fragmented <br />(primarily through the use of explosives) and removed from the pit. Hydraulic shovels loaded haul <br />trucks which transported raw coal from the pit directly to the Hayden Station generation plant. <br />Direct haul to the plant precluded coal preparation at the mine site. <br />Description of the Reclamation Plan <br />Reclamation activities have continued on the lands proposed for transfer from the Seneca II Mine to <br />the PSCM since surface mining ceased in August 1999 in the Wadge East Area pit. Area strip <br />mining reclamation methods included spoils grading, topsoil replacement and revegetation. Auger- <br />mined areas were backfilled with spoil. <br />Vegetation removal was limited to large woody plants that would interfere with topsoil removal. <br />Trees and shrubs were brushed and backfilled in previously mined pits or were placed as brush pile <br />habitat on final graded spoil slopes. Lower stands of less woody vegetation were incorporated into <br />topsoil, increasing organic matter in the soils. Topsoil salvage depths ranged from zero (in steep <br />slope and rock outcrop areas) to 60 inches. Salvaged topsoil was removed by scraper and bulldozer <br />equipment and stockpiled. Topsoil was salvaged and immediately redistributed on graded spoils, <br />when possible. <br />All final pit highwalls were reduced and the entire disturbed area was regraded where permanent <br />structures were not located. Cast over spoils were graded to approximate original contour. Areas of <br />topsoil redistribution were generally drill seeded the first fall planting season following completion <br />of topsoil spreading. Reclamation of pit areas was concurrent with minting. <br />Non-coal waste was disposed of in a solid waste disposal area located in the final area mined in the <br />Wadge Pit. The non-coal wastes included petroleum-contaminated materials from a land-farming <br />operation that had been conducted in the area northwest of PeCoCo pond. Materials placed in the <br />pit were not considered hazardous or toxic, and were not considered to pose a threat to groundwater <br />resources. <br />All facilities and structures have been removed from the Seneca II lands proposed for transfer to the <br />PSCM, with the exception of the following structures: office, bath house, warehouse and repair <br />building, maintenance building, welding shop, fuel storage, truck wash bay, explosives storage <br />containers, warehouse yard, various roads, ditches and culverts. The following structures have <br />been approved as permanent and will be used in PSCM operations: twenty three permanent <br />postmining drainage channels, thirteen permanent postmining stock ponds, four permanent sediment <br />control ponds (002, 003, PeCoCo, and 004), and seven roads with associated culverts (A, A-1, B, B- <br />1, C, E, and E-1). The permanent structures are discussed in more detail. in the findings section of <br />this document. <br />Peabody Sage Creek Mine 13 May 7, 2010