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on future experience with subsidence. The first five-year mine plan area was located in areas that did not <br />contain many significant water resources. This allowed Bowie Resources LLC to obtain subsidence and <br />repair experience prior to mining sensitive areas. <br />The State Engineer's office was consulted during the course of the initial application review, However, no <br />approval of the mitigation plan could be granted by the SEO since the SEO is not authorized by law to <br />approve augmentation plans. <br />Topsoils - Rules 2.04.9, 2.05.3(5), 2.05.4(2)(d), 4.06 <br />Information pertaining to soil resources and their inventory may be found on pages 67 to 69, Part 2.04 of <br />Volume 1 and in the Soils Appendix of Volume 9. Information pertaining to topsoil handling and <br />redistribution may be found on pages 50 to 53 and 63 to 67, Part 2.05 of Volume 1. <br />Disturbance at the Bowie No. 1 Mine commenced in late 1975 but has presently ceased due to the <br />cessation of mining. Laws pertaining to topsoil salvaging have become more stringent with the enactment <br />of each additional law. The initial development work of the Bowie No. 1 East Mine benches and the <br />storage and loadout areas occurred from October 1975 to mid-1976, prior to the enactment of the Colorado <br />Mined Land Reclamation Act of 1976 and its topsoil salvaging requirements. Due to the steep slopes in <br />these areas, no topsoil was salvaged. Since enactment of the 1976 law, topsoil has been salvaged from <br />disturbed areas. <br />Soils within those portions of the permit area which have been or will be disturbed by surface operations <br />and facilities are generally deep, encouraging surface runoff. As a result, the water erosion hazard is often <br />high. Generally, available water capacities are high, reflecting the potential of these soils to store water for <br />plant use. Topsoil layers at the existing facilities are shallow, ranging from about two (2) inches to eight <br />(8) inches; surface textures are generally loams or clay loams with subsoils ranging from clay loams to <br />clays: However, at the Roatcap Creek facilities soils are much deeper, ranging from two (2) feet to four (4) <br />feet in many places. Basaltic cobbles and stones are common throughout the profile of most soils. The <br />general area is somewhat susceptible to landslides, especially in the steeper topography of the mine bench <br />area and, as such, the continual sloughing of colluvial material in this area impairs horizon development. <br />Vegetation Rules 2.04.10, 2.05.4(2)(e), 4.15 <br />Information pertaining to vegetation baseline may be found on pages 70 to 75, Part 2.04 of Volume 1 and <br />in the Vegetation Appendix of Volume 9A. Information pertaining to the revegetation plan and vegetation <br />success criteria may be found on pages 67 to 76, Part 2.05 of Volume 1 and in the Vegetation Appendix of <br />Volume 9A. <br />Disturbance at the Bowie No. 1 Mine began in late 1975 but has presently ceased due to a permanent <br />cessation of mining. Initial disturbance occurred prior to any requirements for preparation of vegetation <br />inventories; therefore, portions of this mine site were not surveyed. However, as new areas were proposed <br />to be!disturbed, they were first inventoried. <br />f <br />Nine Ivegetation types have been inventoried in the mine permit area, including agriculture, aspen, mixed <br />shrub, mountain meadow, oakbrush, pinon juniper, sagebrush, sparse herbaceous understory, and riparian. <br />The majority of the disturbed areas at Bowie No. 1 Mine are located in oakbrush communities dominated <br />by Gambel oak ( uercus gambehi) and serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) and in pinon juniper <br />communities where Utah juniper Juni erus osteosperma) dominates over pinon pine Pinus edulis). Other <br />communities disturbed to a lesser degree include agriculture (orchards), mixed shrub, and riparian. <br />17