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IV. PROPOSED DECISION <br />Based on the above observations, the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety <br />proposes to approve Snowcap Coal Company, Inc.'s request for a Phase II and III bond release for <br />the 14.8 reclaimed acres of the South Portal area at the Roadside Portals Mine. Upon final <br />approval, this proposed decision will release the applicant from all liability for reclamation work at <br />the 14.8 acres at the South portals area, as discussed in this document. There are no areas included <br />in the bond release application that will be excluded from the full liability bond release request. <br />PHASE II and [II <br />The Division holds an approved performance bond of $1,640,413.00 in the form of a corporate <br />surety for the Roadside Portals Mine. The Division proposes to release $68,908.00 for the partial <br />Phase II/III Bond Release SL-06. The release amount is $1,488.00 more than the amount requested <br />by Snowcap Coal Company. The reason for the difference in amounts is because SCC used old <br />reclamation costs in their estimate submitted with the SL-06 bond release application. The <br />Division used the most recent reclamation costs that were updated July 15, 2010 with Midterm <br />Review MT-06. There is one minor difference (besides the requested release amount) between the <br />Division's estimate and the estimate submitted by SCC. In their estimate, SCC requests a release of <br />$836.85 for task 019. The Division, however, already released task 019 in its entirety during SL-04 <br />process. Therefore, there is no release amount for task 019 in SL-06. <br />The Division received the SL-06 bond release application May 19, 2010 and was processing the <br />application within the same timeframe that the Midterm Review MT-06 was completed. The <br />updated liability calculated for MT-06 based on general cost increases was $1,722,908.00 which is <br />$82,495.00 more than the previous liability of $1,640,413.00. Also pending is bond release <br />application SL-07 which was received by the Division on July 06, 2010. SCC has requested a large <br />dollar amount for release with SL-07 ($661,061.00). The bond release inspection has been <br />completed for SL-07 and the final review process is currently underway. The cost estimate has <br />been updated with both MT-06 and SL-06 and will be further revised with SL-07. Because of these <br />concurrent permitting actions, the Division will reevaluate the reclamation cost estimate following <br />completion of the SL-07 review and approval process. For SL-06, the Division is not proposing to <br />release any bond money. A new reclamation cost estimate will be prepared and issued with the <br />Proposed Decision and Findings for SL-07, which will in effect significantly reduce the reclamation <br />liability amount. <br />Any person with a valid legal interest which might be adversely affected by this proposed decision <br />may request a formal public hearing before the Mined Land Reclamation Board in accordance with <br />Rule 3.03.2(6). Public notice of this proposed decision will be published twice in the The Daily <br />Sentinel as soon as possible. Requests for public hearing must be submitted to the Division in <br />writing within thirty days of the first publication in the The Daily Sentinel. If no hearing is <br />requested within those thirty days, the Division's decision will become final. <br />Page 12 <br />