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In Technical Revision No. 52, BRL demonstrated that further quarterly inspections by BRL of the West
<br />Ridge Waste Pile at the East Mine were no longer required. The Division would continue, however, to
<br />inspect this area during its periodic field inspections. This revision was approved on January 22, 2010.
<br />Backfilling and grading operations started at the East Mine and at the timber storage area in the spring of
<br />2008 and lasted into the summer of the following year. The soil material for backfilling the East Mine
<br />came from the outslopes of the various East Mine benches and from material that had been stockpiled at
<br />the timber storage area across from Steven's Gulch road. After backfilling and grading operations were
<br />completed at both sites, topsoil was applied and drainage ditches, some with riprap, were established. The
<br />road at the East Mine was left in place, after the asphalt was removed and the road narrowed to 16 feet in
<br />width.
<br />In 2010, BRL proposed to transfer a portion of the Bowie No. 1 Mine permit area into the Bowie No. 2
<br />Mine permit area and mine the new area under the Bowie No. 2 permit. To accomplish this, BRL
<br />submitted Permit Revision No. 4 for the Bowie No. 1 Mine and PR-12 to the Bowie No. 2 Mine. In PR-4,
<br />the permit area will decrease by 3,239 acres, 2,379 acres of which will be incorporated into the Bowie No.
<br />2 Mine through its PR-12. BRL also proposed a permit boundary correction so that the Bowie No. 1 Mine
<br />permit boundary aligns with most of the federal lease boundary. The boundary correction decreased the
<br />Bowie No. 1 Mine permit area by an additional 860 acres. Along with the transfer of liability for the
<br />permit acres from the Bowie No. 1 Mine permit to the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit, the liability for
<br />numerous surface water and ground water monitoring stations and four exploration drill site projects also
<br />will be transferred.
<br />Permit Revision No. 4 came to the Division in a submittal dated April 20, 2010. However, the revision
<br />was called incomplete on May 3, 2010, mainly due to a lack of detailed information in the submittal's
<br />revised pages and maps. In a second submittal dated June 10, 2010, BRL provided more detailed
<br />information and PR-4 was called complete on June 18, 2010. The completeness public notice was
<br />published in the Delta County Independent in the June 23, June 30, July 7 and July 14, 2010 editions.
<br />The Division received one comment letter concerning PR-4. In a letter dated June 14, 2010, the BLM
<br />verified that the federal leases associated with PR-4 have been issued and approved, except for the
<br />pending lease modification for 160 acres just west of Terror Creek.
<br />In a letter dated August 6, 2010, the Division sent its adequacy review questions and comments. Included
<br />in the adequacy review letter was the Division's reclamation cost estimate for the transfer in liability for
<br />three exploration drill holes and the associated disturbances from Bowie No. 2 to Bowie No. 1. The cost
<br />estimate amounted to a decrease in liability of $45,039.00. BRL responded with a submittal dated August
<br />31, 2010. In that response, BRL requested that an additional reduction in the cost estimate be made to
<br />account for the transfer of liability for exploration drill hole 2010-2, approved in MR-124. The Division
<br />agreed and revised the reclamation cost estimate for PR-4 so that there would be a decrease in liability of
<br />$57,598.00. BRL accepted the Division's revised reclamation cost estimate.
<br />In a letter dated November 22, 2010, the Division sent a second adequacy review letter, consisting of only
<br />one comment. Because there had been a recent change in management and ownership, the Division
<br />requested updates to the ownership and control information. In submittals dated December 6, 2010 and
<br />December 9, 2010, BRL updated the ownership and control information. An Applicant Violator System
<br />check on December 28, 2010 showed no violations associated with the new updates.
<br />Description of the Environment
<br />The Bowie No. 1 Mine is situated in the northeastern portion of Delta County, Colorado, and is located
<br />approximately four (4) miles north of Paonia, Colorado, along the Steven's Gulch Road. The western
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