Laserfiche WebLink
INTRODUCTION <br />This document is the proposed decision package prepared by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, <br />Mining and Safety (Division) for approval of an application for a Partial Phase I Bond Release <br />application (this surety release is designated SL-4) submitted by the Bear Coal Company for the Bear No. <br />3 Mine, Permit Number C-1981-033. The package contains three parts which include: (1) A summary of <br />the review process; (2) written findings of the Division regarding compliance with the bond release <br />requirements of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (the Act), and Regulations <br />promulgated thereunder, and; (3) the proposed decision to approve the request for Partial Phase I Bond <br />Release. <br />Detailed information about the review process can be found in the Act and Regulations of the Colorado <br />Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining (the Regulations). All rules referenced within this <br />document are contained within the Regulations. Detailed information about the mining and reclamation <br />operations can be found in the permit application on file at the Division of Reclamation, Mining and <br />Safety, 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215, Denver, Colorado 80203. <br />The Bear No. 3 Mine is an underground coal mine located in Gunnison County, Colorado. The Bear Coal <br />Company is the permittee and operator. The permit area encompasses 1108.4 surface acres, 1079.6 acres <br />of which are privately owned and 28.8 acres of which are federally owned. Disturbed surface acreage <br />amounts to 9 acres. <br />The SL-4 Partial Phase I Bond Release request is for structural removal and backfilling and grading over <br />7.5 acres of the disturbed area. The Bear Coal Company is requesting that up to $167,000.00 of the total <br />bond held of $279,224.00 be released. The Division is proposing to release $$148,833.00 as discussed in <br />this document. <br />SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />The Bear Coal Company requested the SL-4 bond release in a formal submittal dated August 4, 2009 and <br />received at the Division on August 6, 2009, although preliminary information had been sent to the <br />Division in a submittal dated March 9, 2009. Included in the formal submittal were the proposed public <br />notice, a copy of the written notice sent to the appropriate landowners and agencies announcing the <br />proposed Partial Phase I Bond Release, a certificate of service, a list of landowners and agencies who <br />received the written notice and a map showing the permit area that is included in the bond release request. <br />Also included in the initial submittal was additional information requested in the Division's Guideline <br />Regarding Selected Coal Mine Bond Release Issues. Copies of the original SL-4 submittal were sent to <br />the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), the USDA-Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management <br />(BLM) as well. <br />The SL-4 public notice was published in the Delta County Independent on August 12, 19, 26 and <br />September 2, 2009. The Division received the proof of publication from the operator on September 11, <br />2009 and the reclamation certification statement required under Rule 3.03.2(1)(e) was received at the <br />Division on September 15, 2009. Within the required 10 day review period, the Division called SL-4 <br />complete on September 21, 2009. Completeness letters were sent out to the Bear Coal Company and the <br />surface owners, including the USDA-Forest Service. Completeness letters were also sent to the BLM and <br />the OSM. Included in the completeness letters was notification that, weather permitting, the bond release <br />inspection would be held on November 3, 2009. In a submittal dated October 7, 2009 and in preparation <br />for the bond release inspection, the Bear Coal Company supplied certified cross sections of the backfilled <br />and graded areas at the Bear No. 3 Mine.