Laserfiche WebLink
=A Qtr United States Department of the Interior <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />,?#Yt},? ??p Western Region Office <br />RIE 1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />JUN 2 2010 Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />);,v4lr or hocia, on <br />tXiining and SabrY? June 21, 2010 <br />Loretta Pineda, Director <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80202 <br />RE: Phase I Bond Release (SL-4), Seneca II Mine, Permit No. <br />C-1980-005, DRMS Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance, May 11, 2010 <br />Dear Ms. Pineda, <br />1oFr <br />`0 <br />SUR <br />This letter acknowledges the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Denver Field Division's (DFD) <br />receipt and review of the above Phase I Bond Release Proposed Decision document prepared by <br />the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) dated May 11, 2010. DFD agrees with <br />the findings and decision document and hereby provides OSM concurrence for the above bond <br />release action in accordance with 30 CFR 740.15 (d) (3), and 30 CFR 906.30, Article IX, Section <br />24, of the State-Federal Cooperative Agreement. <br />DRMS's Proposed Decision documents the applicant's compliance with the Colorado approved <br />regulatory program at Rule 3.03.2, and DRMS's bond release guidelines dated April, 18, 1995. <br />DRMS' proposed decision will release Seneca Coal Company, LLC (SCC) from liability for <br />backfilling, grading, and drainage reestablishment on 135.3 acres of the site including a 125.8 <br />acre block of reclamation in the southeast portion of the permit area referred to as the "East <br />Wadge Area," along with 8 acres of reclaimed solid waste site in the southwest portion of the <br />pen-nit area, and a 1.5 acre corridor associated with new postmining drainage channel PM-12A, <br />located approximately mid-way between the solid waste disposal area and the East Wadge Area. <br />The Bureau of Land Management concurred with DRMS' proposed decision in a letter dated <br />June 8, 2010 (copy enclosed). <br />OSM finds that SCC has met or exceeded the requirements for Phase I bond release on the 135.3 <br />acres of land as described above. DRMS currently holds a performance bond in the amount of <br />$7,183,489.00 for the Seneca II Mine. Of this amount, $4,050,665.00 applies to the permanent <br />program. This action will release $77,028.00. DRMS has determined that the remaining bond <br />amount of $4,259,121.00 ($3,973,637.00 for interim and permanent program disturbance) is <br />sufficient to assure completion of the remaining reclamation work at the site if the work had to <br />be perfonned by a third party for DRMS, including the cost of topsoil redistribution and <br />reestablishing vegetation on any revegetated areas, should those areas fail. OSM concurs with <br />the proposed bond release amount.