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III. OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS <br />The following discussion of observations and findings focuses on the results of backfilling and grading <br />work and drainage reestablishment, relating this work to reclamation plan requirements. During the <br />Phase I bond release inspection, participants walked through large portions of the release request area, <br />to allow for visual assessment of compliance with pertinent requirements as described above in <br />Section II of this document. An inclinometer was used to field check gradients at major drainage <br />channels and selected slope locations, and the condition and approximate dimension of permanent <br />channels was noted. Relevant documentation developed over the past several years is included in <br />previous inspection reports and was reviewed prior to this bond release inspection. In addition, Phase <br />I Bond Request (Exhibit A), Chronological Backfill and Grading (Exhibit B), Postmining <br />Topography and Drainage (Exhibit C), Post Mine Cross-Sections (Exhibit D), and As-Built Drainage <br />Profiles (Exhibit E) were included in the bond release application and reviewed by the Division <br />during the technical evaluation of the bond release application. <br />Permanent Facilities <br />One permanent facility other than permanent channels was included in the SL-2 release request. The <br />facility is an electrical power line that runs from the eastern permit boundary on the Grassy Creek <br />Road, for a distance of approximately 7,355 feet up to a substation on a ridge near the north end of <br />the neck pit area, west of the entrance road. Based on documentation in Attachment 21 (Permanent <br />Features and Structures) of the PAP, including a letter from the owner of the power line (Yampa <br />Valley Electric Association), and letters from landowners along the power line corridor (Seneca Coal <br />Company and Public Service Company of Colorado), the facility is warranted for retention for <br />postmining use and has been approved as a permanent facility. As such, removal of the power line <br />and support poles is not required for inclusion of the facility in the Phase I bond release request. <br />Observations made from viewpoints at the upper end of the line near the substation, and the lower <br />end of the line along Sage Creek Road, as well as review of recent DRMS aerial photographs that <br />cover sections of the line, do not indicate areas of erosion or other concerns related to the <br />transmission line corridor. <br />Backfilling & Grading and Drainage Reestablishment <br />Areas subject to the SL-2 release request are shown on the attached Figure 2 - Phase I Bond Release <br />Request Areas and included limited acreage of the North Pit (primarily reclaimed road and permanent <br />drainage corridors), a significant portion of the South Pit, a significant portion of the Neck Pit and Light <br />Use Road 3A (LU3A corridor), and the former Haul Road "D" corridor, which extends approximately <br />3500', between the Neck Pit area and the ridge Northeast of Pond 012. Watersheds subject to bond <br />release request within each of the reclaimed pit areas were walked during the inspection, and <br />observations were made with regard to approximate original contour and erosional stability of the <br />reclaimed landscape.. Postmine drainage channels were walked along their entire length. Limited areas <br />that were not observed during the July inspection were checked during an inspection of August 12, <br />2009. Locations within the Pond 01 IA watershed in the North Pit area were inspected by the Division <br />on October 13, 2009, and follow-up observations relevant to the SL-2 application were also made on <br />inspections of September 23, 2009 and April 29, 2010. Based on observations made during and prior to <br />9