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Hello Mike and Edith - <br />This is a follow-up to a voice-mail message we received yesterday. I'm sorry I was unable to reply to your message yesterday as <br />requested - I was busy preparing for a meeting that occurred this morning. <br />First, allow me to express my condolences to the two of you regarding the passing of Mike's Dad. I am sorry to hear of this, and am <br />thinking of you both at this time. <br />Second, with regard to Oakridge Energy Inc's Phase III bond release application SL4 for the Carbon Junction Mine, the Division <br />considered the January 25, 2010 Letter of Intent between La Plata County's Board of County Commissioners and Oakridge Energy Inc <br />regarding some potential roads that may be built in part within the permit area of the Carbon Junction Mine at some time in the <br />future. Oakridge Energy Inc submitted this Letter of Intent as a demonstration that the approved post-mining land use of <br />"Residential" (Section 1.04(71)(e) of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board of Coal Mining) had been <br />achieved. Unfortunately, as this Letter of Intent is not a guarantee that these roads will be actually be built, we cannot release the <br />area subject to Bond Release Application SL4 based upon this Letter of Intent. <br />The Division is therefore not in a position to be able to approve Oakridge Energy Inc's Phase III Bond Release Application SL4 for the <br />Carbon Junction Mine. The Division believes that Oakridge Energy Inc has not demonstrated that the approved post-mining land use <br />of "Residential" has substantially commenced and is likely to be achieved, as required by Section 3.02.3(2)(c) of the Regulations of <br />the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining. <br />For Oakridge Energy Inc to demonstrate that the post-mining land use of Residential has substantially commenced and is likely to be <br />achieved, the Division believes that of the nine 35-acre parcels within which the subject bond release disturbed area is situated, <br />Oakridge Energy Inc should demonstrate for five of those nine parcels that: <br />• Permits for building "single- or multiple-family housing, mobile home parks, or other residential lodgings" (Section <br />1.04(71)(e) of the Board's Regulations) have been obtained from the La Plata County Building Department; and <br />• Concrete foundations for residential lodgings have been poured. <br />As Oakridge Energy Inc has not yet complied with these items, and as the Division believes it could be quite some time before <br />Oakridge Energy Inc may be able to do so, the Division proposes two possible courses of action for Oakridge Energy Inc's <br />consideration: <br />1. Oakridge Energy Inc submits a letter to the Division by Monday November 1, 2010 requesting Withdrawal of the SL4 Bond <br />Release Application (this would allow Oakridge Energy Inc an opportunity to comply with the above items, then re-apply in the <br />future for a Phase III bond release as Bond Release Application Number SL5); or <br />2. Oakridge Energy Inc submits a letter to the Division by Monday November 1, 2010 requesting Partial Approval of the SL4 Bond <br />Release Application in the form of a site-wide Phase II Bond Release (this too would allow Oakridge Energy Inc an opportunity to <br />comply with the items above and subsequently re-apply for a Phase III bond release as Bond Release Application Number SLS, but <br />with the added immediate benefits of a partial release of a portion of the reclamation bond held by DRMS for the mine site and a <br />reduction in DRMS site inspections to only Quarterly Complete Inspections). <br />A third possible course of action that Oakridge Energy Inc may wish to consider is to submit a Technical Revision to the Carbon <br />Junction Mine permit that would propose changing the post-mining land use of the disturbed area subject to the SL4 bond release <br />from "Residential" to one of the other land use categories described in Section 1.04(71) of the Board's Regulations. However, as the <br />10-year reclamation liability described in Section 3.02.3(2)(b) would apply to most of these land use categories (other than for the <br />"Industrial or Commercial" post-mining land use), and as the disturbed area subject to the SL4 application was reseeded in 2006, the <br />earliest that the Division could release the subject disturbed area under this possible third course of action would likely be 2016. <br />Should the Division not receive either letter described in Paragraphs 1 or 2 above by Monday November 1, 2010, the Division will <br />have to proceed with issuing a Proposed Decision to Deny Oakridge Energy Inc's Phase III Bond Release Application Number SL4 for <br />the Carbon Junction Mine. <br />We welcome any other ideas that Oakridge Energy Inc may have regarding this matter. Should Oakridge Energy Inc wish to propose <br />any alternatives to the courses of action described above, we look forward to hearing from Oakridge Energy Inc at its earliest <br />convenience. Otherwise, we look forward to hearing from Oakridge Energy Inc by Monday November 1, 2010. <br />Sincerely, <br />Dan <br />