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• 3.2 TOPSOIL <br />i <br />3.2.1 Removal <br />Before an area is disturbed by drilling, blasting, mining or other surface dis- <br />turbance, the topsoil is removed as appropriate. The first step in the topsoil <br />removal operation is the stripping of any brush or trees that would interfere <br />with the use of the topsoil. This is generally accomplished with a dozer which <br />pushes the vegetation onto a previously disturbed area, such as the open pit or <br />nearby drill benches. Alternatively, the material may be ground up into a mulch- <br />like consistency and picked up with the topsoil, or burned. <br />After removing the brush or trees, topsoil is removed from the areas to be dis- <br />turbed. In any given year, enough topsoil is removed from an area to allow <br />drilling and blasting activities to advance through June of the following year. <br />A buffer zone is added to the removal area each year to accommodate unplanned <br />activities and to avoid potential contamination of topsoil adjacent to drilling <br />46 and blasting activities. <br />Topsoil is usually removed with scrapers. In addition, dozers or similar equip- <br />ment are used to maintain roads and to otherwise assist in the topsoiling <br />operation. <br />Where B horizon material is saved, it is picked up and moved along with the A <br />horizon and not separated. Mixing of the A and B horizons as a practice has been <br />found acceptable to the office of Surface Mining (Appendix G). Complete discus- <br />sions on the rationale of topsoil depths and criteria for topsoil replacement are <br />provided in Sections 2.6 and 4.9. <br />Once the topsoil is removed, it is transported by scrapers either to regraded <br />spoil for replacement or to a stockpile for temporary storage. <br />0 <br />3-19 <br />REVISED FEB 13 '87