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a <br />1. INTRODUCTION <br />Purpose of this Document <br />This document presents the findings of compliance and the proposed decision of the Colorado <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety ("Division") for a Phases I, 11, and III bond release <br />application at the Carbon Junction Mine. The Division file number for the bond release application <br />is SL-04. The Division mining and reclamation permit number is C-92-080. These findings and the <br />proposed decision are made in response to a request for the release of a reclamation bond for the <br />Carbon Junction Mine. The bond instrument is a JP Morgan Chase Bank Letter of Credit (No. <br />00331076) in the amount of $405,834. The bond release request was submitted to the Division by <br />the operator of the mine, Oakridge Energy Inc. (Oakridge), on July 30, 2008. <br />Location and History of the Carbon Junction Mine <br />The Carbon Junction Mine is located in La Plata County, approximately 2%Z miles southeast of <br />Durango, Colorado. The bond release area is located in Section 33, Township 341/2North, Range <br />9 West, and in Section 4, Township 34 North, Range 9 West, New Mexico Principal Meridian. <br />The Carbon Junction Mine was a surface coal mine that utilized area strip methods. The land <br />and coal in the bond release area are privately owned. <br />Bond Release Area and Bond Release Amount <br />The Carbon Junction Mine permit area covers 164.19 acres. Mining activities in the permit area <br />disturbed a total of 45.31 acres. Oakridge is requesting Phases II and III (final) bond release on the <br />45.31 disturbed acres in the permit area. The disturbed area includes the following areas which have <br />not previously received Phase I bond release: Topsoil stockpiles #4, #7, and #8; Ponds 1 and 2, the <br />East Collection Ditch, the collection ditch located on the east side of the former Equipment Storage <br />Area, and the former Equipment Storage Area (equipment removal). All other areas in the SL-04 <br />bond release area previously received Phase I bond release in 2008 (SL-03). These are the North Pit; <br />North Pit Haul Road; the Previously Reclaimed Spoils Area; the South Pit Drill Pad; the Equipment <br />Yard; Topsoil Stockpile #2; and the reconstructed Carbon Junction Canyon channel. The amount of <br />bond liability requested for release in SL-04 is $405,834, which is all of the reclamation bond the <br />Division currently holds for the Carbon Junction Mine. The current bond reclamation liability for <br />the Carbon Junction Mine is also $405,834, as itemized in the reclamation cost estimate, dated <br />August 6, 2008, in Appendix 5-7 of the permit application. The Division would terminate its <br />regulatory jurisdiction over the Carbon Junction Mine upon approval of a Phase III bond release for <br />the entire permit area. <br />Background Information Sources <br />Detailed information about the bond release review process can be found in the Colorado Surface <br />Coal Mining Reclamation Act, the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for <br />Coal Mining, and in the Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues, dated April