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Mine Status and History <br />The Seneca H-W Mine is located approximately 7 miles south of Hayden, Colorado in Routt County. <br />The initial mining and reclamation permit for the mine was issued December 31, 1985, for a 5 year <br />permit term. The permit has been renewed for additional 5 year permit terms four times prior to RN- <br />5. The previous permit renewal proposed decision (RN-4) was issued July 3, 2006, and the <br />Division's basis for the renewal approval is set forth in the (RN-4) Findings of Compliance <br />document, dated July 3, 2006. <br />Coal extraction began at Seneca H-W in 1990, and continued through 2005. Coal extraction ceased <br />in early January 2006, due to a combination of difficult mining conditions and economic factors. <br />Reclamation operations are continuing. Seneca ll-W is a dip-slope area strip mine operation, which <br />primarily utilized dragline mining methods, with limited auger mining in some final pit locations. <br />The total permitted area, including the Tie-Across Haul Road that connects Routt County Road 53 <br />with the Hayden Power Plant, is approximately 4,093 acres. The maximum proposed disturbed area <br />is 1,534.5 acres, including the mine area (1,334.5 acres of mine pit areas, support facilities, haul <br />roads and drainage control structures) and the Tie-Across Haul Road corridor (200 acres). To date, <br />only 1381.9 acres (including 96.6 acres associated with the Tie-Across Haul Road) have been <br />disturbed, and no additional disturbance is anticipated during reclamation and maintenance <br />operations. Surface ownership is predominantly private, with right of entry based on a variety of <br />private leases, subleases and easements. The permit area also includes limited areas of federal <br />surface managed by BLM, and state lands managed by the State of Colorado. Coal mined at Seneca <br />II-W was owned by private interest and the Federal government, under lease to Seneca Coal <br />Company. <br />Over the mine life, Seneca Coal Company produced in excess of 12 million tons of coal at Seneca 11- <br />W. Annual production ranged from a low of 376,700 tons to a maximum of 990,300 tons. No <br />further coal production is proposed. Reclamation of pit areas was completed in 2007; reclamation <br />has not been completed in the facilities areas, as SCC is currently seeking approval for permanent <br />retention of a number of the facilities. Temporary sediment control structures will be removed upon <br />demonstration that reclaimed areas have been adequately stabilized by vegetation, unless approved as <br />permanent impoundments for the postmining land use. <br />Stipulation and Revision Summary <br />With the exception of Stipulation 32, all stipulations on previous permitting action approvals have been <br />resolved. Stipulation 32 was attached to the TR-42 proposed decision, issued October '14, 2003. <br />This stipulation remains in effect. <br />STIPULATION 32 <br />FOR PERMANENT ROAD RETENTION ON RECLAIMED LANDS, THE PERMITTEE <br />WILL SUBMIT, WITHIN A COMPLETE' 1 VISION APPLICATION, DEMONSTRATION <br />OF COMPLIANCE WITH 4.03.1(1)(F) OR 4.03.2(1)(G) AS APPLICABLE. THE <br />Seneca II-W Findings Document 4 C1982057 <br />Permit Renewal No. 5 December 9, 2010