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0 Public Notice
<br />Mountain Coal Company, L.L.C. (MCC), P.O. Box 591, Somerset, CO 81434, (970)
<br />929 -5015, has filed a request for Phase I Bond Release to Mining and Reclamation
<br />Permit No. C -80 -007 with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (Board),
<br />under the provisions of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act of 1979.
<br />The permit was originally issued by the Board in July 1981, and subsequently
<br />renewed in August 1986, January 1993, (Effective August 1991), July 1996, July
<br />2001, and February 13, 2007. The current five -year permit term expires February
<br />13, 2012. The West Elk Mine five -year permit area contains lands in Sections 9 -11,
<br />13 -36, T13S, R90W, 6 th PM; and Sections 23 -26, T13S, R91W, 6 th PM, and Sections
<br />1-5, 8 -12, T14S, R90W, 6 th PM in Delta and Gunnison Counties. The location of the
<br />lands can be found on the USGS 7.5 minute Somerset and Minnesota Pass
<br />Quadrangle Topographic Maps. The current permit area encompasses
<br />approximately 17,154.9 acres.
<br />MCC is requesting Phase I Bond Release for reclaimed methane drainage wells and
<br />roads in the Dry Fork of Minnesota Creek and West Flatiron Areas. This area
<br />covers approximately 48 acres of private and National Forest System lands
<br />specifically located within portions of Sections 14, 15, 22, 23, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36,
<br />Township 13 South, Range 90 West, and Sections 1 and 2, Township 14 South,
<br />Range 90 West. These drill sites and roads were necessary for coal exploration and
<br />• methane drainage over the past fifteen years. MCC is requesting for a release of
<br />reclamation bond liability of sixty percent (60 %) of the bond posted for those sites in this
<br />application.
<br />Reclamation of the various drill site locations and roads within MCC's permit were
<br />completed from 2000 through 2010. This included proper plugging and
<br />abandonment of drill holes, as well as backfilling and regrading of drill pad
<br />locations and road. The well sites and roads proposed for bond release have been
<br />revegetated using various methods of seeding, fertilizing, and mulching, including
<br />the installation of straw and erosion control matting.
<br />A copy of the Phase I Bond Release application is available for review at the
<br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, 1313 Sherman Street, Room
<br />215 Denver, CO 80203, phone (303) 866 -3567, and the Gunnison County Planning
<br />Office, 221 N. Wisconsin, Suite D, Gunnison, CO 81230. Comments or objections
<br />concerning the application should be directed to the CDRMS at the above address
<br />not later than 30 days after the first date of publication of this notice (published 4
<br />times consecutively) in order to be considered.
<br />C7
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