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the possible violation does not exist in accordance with 30 CFR §842.1 l(b) (4) (i). Specifically, <br />the DFD found that the terms of Western Fuels-Colorado, LLC (WFC) permit for the New <br />Horizon Mine properly implement the requirements of the Colorado regulatory program, and that <br />mining and reclamation of the Morgan property located within the permit boundary has been <br />conducted in accordance with the approved permit. <br />Request for Informal Review: Following the DFD decision letter on May 6, 2010, you <br />requested informal review of the DFD's decision. Specifically, you disagree with the DFD's May <br />5, 2010 decision and reiterate your concerns regarding the prime farmland determination, soil <br />salvage and redistribution, and permit revision procedures, including pre and post-mining land <br />use, wherein you state objections to Permit Revision No. 5 (PR-5), Permit Renewal No. 5 (RN-5), <br />Technical Revision No. 57 (TR-57) and pending Permit Revision No. 6 (PR-6). <br />Informal Review: As provided by 30 CFR §842.11, you requested an informal review of the <br />DFD's decision on the TDN. Based on the information available to me, the facts of the situation <br />appear as follows: <br />The Morgan property was included in the New Horizon Mine pen-nit boundary with the <br />issuance of PR-5. The DRMS provided appropriate public notice, responded to public <br />comments, and identified several adequacy issues during its review. No objections were <br />received and the DRMS deemed the proposed decision final on June 1, 2000. <br />2. As part of the application for PR-5 that was submitted to DRMS on September 14, 1999, an <br />Order 1 Soil Survey was conducted in 1998 by WFC's consultant, Intermountain Resource <br />Inventories, Inc. On the Morgan property, 87.07 out of the total 107.96 acres were mapped <br />as Soil Map Unit 98E which is the Darvey-Barx complex, and soil depths ranged from 39 to <br />69 inches. <br />3. During the pre-mine 1998 baseline soils survey, an investigation of prime farmlands was <br />conducted on Map Unit 98E, the Darvey-Barx complex. The investigation report found that <br />Barx irrigated is a prime farmland soil in Colorado according to the Colorado Important <br />Farmland Inventory, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Colorado, and falls <br />within the criteria listed in the 1996 edition of the National Soil Survey Handbook. <br />However, the report also found that the Colorado Important Farmland Inventory states on <br />page 3, "irrigated soils that have a pH higher than 7.4 are considered as having high <br />conductivity and therefore are not considered prime." The report concluded that the Barx <br />soil used in the survey was not considered as being prime farmland because the pH was <br />higher than 7.4 in all horizons. <br />4. Based on the soils survey and the reference to the NRCS publication, Colorado Important <br />Farmland Inventory, DRMS made a negative prime farmlands determination. This finding <br />was consistent with previous negative findings for the Barx soil map unit at the New <br />Horizon Mine as documented in 1992 and 1996 NRCS letters. <br />5. As approved, the permit for non-prime farmland on the Morgan property required the A and <br />B topsoil layers to be salvaged and they could be mixed. PR-5 also required the A and B <br />mix to be placed over a minimum of 26 inches of suitable subsoil and the total had to be 48 <br />2