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Culvert I-1 Area 0.03 <br />Scraper Road Exclusion 12.10 <br />Total 426.66 <br />SL-3 Phase I Bond Release Application <br />The SL-3 application was received by the Division on July 14, 2010 and deemed complete on <br />August 26, 2010. Seneca Coal Company published notice of the bond release application in the <br />Steamboat Pilot once weekly for four consecutive weeks, beginning July 18, 2010 and ending on <br />August 8, 2010. SCC notified land owners within and adjacent to the mine permit area, the Office <br />of Surface Mining (OSM), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other interested parties of <br />the application for bond release, as required by Rule 3.03.2(1). Comments were received from one <br />landowner, requesting that the Division consider existing stability issues when determining the <br />amount of bond to be released with the SL-3 application. The areas of instability (the Pond 016 and <br />016A slide area) were not included in this bond release request, and the Division currently retains <br />adequate bond for reclamation of these areas. A plan for long-term stability of the Pond 016 and <br />016A slide areas is currently under review by the Division (TR-73). The letter also included <br />comments that would pertain to a Phase II bond release, which is not being requested by the <br />operator at this time. A copy of the comments is available on file at the Division office. No written <br />objections or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release application were <br />received by the Division. <br />A bond release inspection was scheduled and conducted September 21 - 23, 2010. The site <br />inspection was conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Dan Mathews and Jim Stark of the <br />Division; Christy Hulsman of the Office of Surface Mining, Jennifer Maiolo of the Bureau of <br />Land Management and Jay James of Seneca Coal Company attended the inspection. None of the <br />other land owners of record attended the inspection; however, all land owners were notified of the <br />inspection via certified mail. A summary of the bond release inspection and any concerns identified <br />are presented in Section III, below, and detailed observations of the inspection are documented in <br />the September 21 - 23, 2010 inspection report that was issued February 17, 2011. <br />II. CRITERIA FOR BOND RELEASE <br />The Division evaluated Seneca Coal Company's request for Phase I bond release on 414 acres in the <br />SL-3 application. Under Colorado's Permanent Program, the process of releasing the reclamation <br />bond for a mine site is explained in Rule 3.03 and further described in the Division's 1995 <br />Guideline Regarding Selected Coal Mining Bond Release Issues. The bond release process involves <br />three phases. At Phase I, Rule 3.03.1(2) (a) states, "Up to sixty percent of the applicable bond <br />amount shall be released when the permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, and <br />drainage control in accordance with the approved reclamation plan." <br />Evaluation and inspection of the reclaimed areas was based on the specific requirements of the <br />reclamation plan and the functional requirements of the post-mining land use. Criteria for bond <br />release included the following. <br />Page 7 of 22