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Mr. Penfield W. Tate, 111 <br />August S, 2010 <br />Page 2 <br />"restoration tasks" appear to be reasonable activity requests, at this time the Division will not <br />allow the unpermitted road to be used for transportation and delivery of construction equipment <br />to the May Day site. The Division engineering staff inspection and analysis have determined that <br />the unpermitted road cannot be used by any size motorized vehicle in its current condition. <br />The Division has not reviewed or approved a detailed plan for grading and stabilization <br />work on the road itself. The requested work on the road is complex activity, requiring the use of <br />equipment. Therefore, before work can be conducted on the road and before the unpermitted <br />road can be employed as an access road for motorized vehicles and construction equipment it <br />must be properly reviewed and permitted by the Division. <br />Wildcat has indicated, and the Division has confirmed, that there is a possibility that <br />Wildcat could secure a temporary use permit from the U.S. Forest Service that would allow for <br />transportation of equipment to the May Day site via the original USFS access road. The <br />Division encourages Wildcat to pursue this as a remedy to the access issue. <br />Restoration Tasks-July 26th Wildcat Spreadsheet: <br />Most, if not all, of the activities Wildcat requests in the "restoration tasks" require the use <br />of equipment which would therefore require the use of the unpermitted road. In addition, many <br />of these tasks will take place in areas that are not currently within the May Day mine permit <br />boundary. The Division will not allow construction and mining activities to take place in an area <br />that is not subject: to a reclamation permit. Such activities, if not necessary to supplement the <br />pending 112d permit application, must be properly permitted before the activities take place. <br />Therefore, the Division is unable- to approve some of the "restoration tasks" outlined in Wildcat's <br />July 26th spreadsheet at this time. A task by task Division response to Wildcat's July 26th <br />spreadsheet activity request is attached to this letter. <br />As the Division's response spreadsheet indicates, in some instances the requested activity <br />may be permissible, subject to submittal and approval of a plan or technical revision; however, <br />the tasks require the use of the unpermitted road to transport equipment. Because the Division <br />will not allow use of the road for transportation of equipment, the requested task cannot be <br />approved. Should Wildcat obtain permission from the USFS to use the Forest Service access <br />road to transport construction equipment to the May Day site, the Division would consider <br />approval for some of the activities listed in the "restoration task" spreadsheet that would occur <br />within the May Day permit boundary. <br />Muck Out of May Day Portal No. 1 and Stabilization of Portal No. 1 and 2• <br />In its spreadsheet submitted on July 26th Wildcat requests permission to muck out May <br />Day portal No. 1 in order to mitigate property damage to the milling equipment as a result of a <br />collapse. In addition, Wildcat requests permission to stabilize Portals No. 1 and 2 per MSHA <br />requirements. Wildcat states that this muck out and stabilization work would allow underground <br />access for the purposes of groundwater sampling.