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C- 1981 -008 MR -118 <br />Preliminary Adequacy Review <br />23 August 2011 <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />2. Page 38 discusses the Grazing Plan for the Reclaimed Irrigated Pasture during the liability <br />period. <br />a) According to the cover letter submitted with the application, the fourth paragraph on <br />page 38 has been modified to allow either haying or grazing on the reference area. <br />Upon review of the submitted page, it appears that the last sentence of the fourth <br />paragraph has been deleted, but the Division does not find that the paragraph has been <br />modified to include haying as an option. Rather, mention of harvesting on the <br />reclaimed area has been removed. Please review page 38, and revise as appropriate. <br />b) Subsection 4.6.2 is titled "Grazing Plan ". The text discusses both haying and grazing of <br />the Reclaimed Irrigated Pastureland. Please revise the title to reflect the dual nature of <br />the information provided. <br />Additional Discussion <br />The Division's initial approach to the MR -81 application was to simply review the proposed <br />changes for adequacy. During the review process, we became aware of certain contradictory <br />statements made within these sections of the permit, related to both reclaimed Irrigated Pasture <br />and the IP reference area. These observations are summarized below. <br />Subsection 4.5.2 of the permit, as approved with PR -06 in December 2010, is entitled, "Irrigated <br />Pastureland Reference Area Characterization and Management." The majority of text in this <br />subsection has been retained from the version approved with TR -58, although the order of the <br />paragraphs has been revised. The third paragraph on page 29 was new with PR -06, and <br />discusses estimates of mean cover for the 1999 vegetation study. This study, conducted for PR- <br />05, does not appear to have been incorporated into the New Horizon Mine permit. The section <br />also references the 1987 study conducted by Peabody (for PR -02). The Division believes that <br />the 1987 and 1999 baseline vegetation studies, in toto, should be incorporated in an attachment <br />to Section 2.04. 10 of the New Horizon Mine permit application package. <br />The Reference Area Management portion of Subsection 4.5.2, page 30 was revised with PR -06. <br />As approved in TR -58, the third paragraph of this subsection described the expected application <br />rates of water: <br />Reference area - 10 shares of water to irrigate the reference area of 6.81 acres. It is <br />applied through a connector ditch from the CCC ditch. The reclaimed area will receive <br />approximately I share per acre if a side roll is used. If flood irrigation is used, the <br />same application rate as the reference area is used, which is 1.64 shares per acre. <br />This paragraph was revised for PR -06 to state simply that, <br />Water will be applied to the reference area based on the ration used for the irrigation of <br />Reclaimed Irrigated Pastureland on the Lloyd property. <br />The Lloyd property has not yet been reclaimed, and it is not representative of the reclaimed lands <br />located east of 2700 Road. The Irrigated Pasture Reference Area management section of the <br />