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C-1981-008 - SL-12 <br />Adequacy Review No. 4 <br />5 May 2011 <br />Page 6 of 10 <br />approved at the time sampling was conducted. Technical Revision 58 (TR-58) was submitted on September 10, <br />2008 after all revegetation sampling had occurred in the summers of 2007 and 2008. A decision proposing to <br />approve TR-58 for the reference area standard was issued on May 13, 2009. WFC submitted the SL12 <br />application on August 18, 2009. Several concerns arise with this permitting sequence. Additionally, as discussed <br />in question 9 below, WFC has not provided the data necessary to demonstrate compliance with the requirements <br />approved in TR-58. <br />a) The approved revegetation success standard at the time of sampling required WFC to meet a technical <br />standard of 1.5 tons/acre for Irrigated Pasture. <br />b) All permits must have an approved reclamation plan per Rule 2.05.4. Rule 2.05.4 (2)(e) requires a plan <br />for revegetation to meet the requirements of 4.15, including 2.05.4(2)(vi) which requires the applicant <br />to describe measures proposed to be used to determine the success of revegetation in accordance with <br />4.15.7. These revegetation plans and requirements for bond release sampling and revegetation success <br />criteria are to be approved in the permit. <br />c) WFC is requesting to retroactively apply the reference area standard (approved in May 2009) to <br />sampling that was conducted in 2008, before the standard was approved. <br />d) For the Phase II portion of the bond release, WFC is using the technical standard approved at the time <br />sampling was conducted which is appropriate. <br />e) The use of two differing revegetation success standards for one reclamation type in one application is <br />not acceptable. <br />J) For the Phase III portion of the SL12 application, WFC achieved the technical standard for sample year <br />2007; the technical standard was not achieved in 2008, the second year of sampling. <br />g) No revegetation sampling was conducted on the SL12 Phase III areas after 2008. <br />h) The implication of this sequence of events is that revegetation success standards can be changed to fit <br />the sampling results. <br />i) The purpose of an approved reclamation plan and revegetation success standards is to provide the <br />method of sampling and to set the success standards before the sampling efforts are accomplished. <br />j) The Division cannot apply a revegetation success standard that was approved after the sampling <br />occurred. <br />Pages 26 through 28 of the application were revised in the March 9, 2010 submittal to incorporate discussion <br />and a table ("Soil Correction Table") regarding a soil factor adjustment procedure allowed under the <br />approved permit [approved in TR-58], for comparison of Irrigated Pasture (IP) reclaimed area production to <br />reference area production. The soil factor adjustments were not applied and were not necessary to <br />demonstrate success. The fact that no adjustment was applied results in a more robust demonstration of <br />success, because the adjustment factor would have lowered the reference area production standard (making <br />success demonstration less stringent). <br />No response was required. , <br />We have the following requests regarding the pages replaced in March 2010, pertaining to Post-mine <br />Revegetation Success. <br />a) Pages 26, 27, and 28 of the original application were replaced with 4 pages of revised material. The <br />replacement pages were erroneously numbered 27, 28, 29, and 30. The replacement pages should be <br />numbered 26, 27, 28, 28a, and 29. Please submit correctly numbered and dated revision pages for <br />insertion into the application. <br />Item resolved with Aug. 2010 submittal.