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October 8, 2010 <br />Division agreed that just the Alkali sagebrush reference area could be sampled for comparison to the reclaimed area. Since <br />the approved vegetation diversity success standard is a numeric value, a weighted average of more than one reference area <br />was not necessary for determining diversity success. <br />The remaining 8.29 acres is a small portion of the entire reclaimed mine area, comprising 2% of the mine site disturbance. <br />The already released 372.7 acres at the mine site met the reclamation success standards for cover, production, species <br />diversity, and woody plant density with the approval of SL4. Due to the small portion of the remaining 8.29 acres <br />compared to the overall successful reclaimed area, the Division is able to consider a revision to the species diversity <br />standard on the remaining 8.29 acres. If Kerr Coal Company proposed a species diversity standard based upon pre- <br />mining (baseline) data, the Division could evaluate the proposal under the provisions of Rule 4.15.7(2)(d). A revision to <br />the reclamation. success standard would need to be submitted as a technical revision. <br />Review of Baseline data found: <br />premining Alkali Sagebrush Vegetation type <br />35.1% cover <br />Alkali Sagebrush <br />Rubber rabbitbrush <br />Needlegrass <br />Hooded Phlox <br />2 5.70% <br />1.2 3.42% <br />91.49% <br />Premining alkali sagebrush reference area <br />38.0% cover <br />Alkali Sagebrush <br />Rubber rabbitbrush <br />Neeedlegrass <br />Hooded Phlox <br />1.9 5.00% <br />87.63% <br />Summary of 2009 vegetation sampling of the 8.29 1999 reclaimed acres found: <br />1999 reclaimed acres at mine site <br />33.76% cover <br />Russian wildrye <br />Great basin wildrye <br />Western wheatgrass <br />Big sagebrush <br />% cover Rel cover % <br />21.00% 61.87% <br />4.24% 12.48% <br />3.53% 10.4% <br />1.59% 4.68% <br />89.43% <br />Although the species composition differs, the baseline diversity for both the Alkali Sagebrush reference area and pre-mine <br />area appear siinilar to the diversity on the 8.29 reclamation acres at the mine site measured in 2009. 2009 data recorded <br />one plant species present at 61.87% relative cover, and the four most abundant species measured in 2009 accounted for <br />89.43% relative cover. In the 2009 sample data four species exhibited greater than 3% relative cover; three grass species, <br />and one shrub species. Although the Division is unable to evaluate the previously phase III bond released vegetation data <br />% cover rel cover % <br />20.10% 57.30% <br />8.8 25.07% <br />% cover rel cover % <br />16.3 42.89% <br />10.8 28.42% <br />4.3 11.32% <br />2