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Mr. Berhan Keffelew <br />RE: Schmidt Construction Company M- 1982 -155 <br />December 21, 2011 <br />2) Only during final reclamation will the mine pit area be graded and stabilized to allow <br />surface drainage off of the permit area. During the mining and reclamation period, the <br />appropriate stormwater discharge permit will be obtained from the Colorado Department <br />of Public Health and Environment and the associated monitoring and stormwater <br />management plan will be followed for surface water discharges. <br />3) The rolling topography for the pit floor described in Exhibit E, Reclamation Plan, is to be <br />very subtle with relief of less than a couple feet. Although additional overburden will be <br />used if available, only one foot of overburden cover is planned at this time. It could also <br />be described as leaving broad and subtle furrows in the final grading. These rough <br />grading elements will be created using overburden and topsoil. <br />4) The calculations in Exhibit L, Reclamation Costs, included backfilling vertically mined <br />faces with overburden to 3H:1V slopes. The option of reclaiming mine faces with cut <br />and fill techniques is included in current reclamation planning to account for the limited <br />amounts of overburden and topsoil available from the site. To reduce confusion and <br />make the amendment area reclamation more consistent with the existing Fountain Pit <br />reclamation operation, it is assumed that cut and fill will be the primary reclamation <br />technique. The use of this technique is incorporated into Exhibit E, Reclamation Plan, <br />Exhibit F, Reclamation Plan Map, and Exhibit L, Reclamation Costs. Similar to current <br />operations at the existing Fountain Pit, cut and fill will reclaim slopes to 3H:1 V or flatter. <br />Although every effort will be made to cover reclaimed slopes with as much overburden <br />and topsoil as possible, the anticipated shortage of these materials results in a <br />commitment of placing only one foot of overburden and four inches of topsoil. <br />5) The operator will salvage all available overburden and topsoil for use during reclamation. <br />The operator commits to placing an average of 4 inches of topsoil over the affected area. <br />6) Only during final reclamation will the mine pit area be graded and stabilized to allow <br />surface drainage off of the permit area. During the mining and reclamation period, the <br />appropriate stormwater discharge permit will be obtained from the Colorado Department <br />of Public Health and Environment and the associated monitoring and stormwater <br />management plan will be followed for surface water discharges. <br />6.4.7 Exhibit G — Water Information <br />1) Test holes during resource evaluations confirm that the groundwater table will not be <br />encountered during mining. Mining at the Fountain Pit immediately east of the <br />amendment area also confirms that the groundwater table is below the depth of mining. <br />6.4.12 Exhibit L — Reclamation Cost <br />1) The primary difference in reclamation cost estimates between the original application <br />(dated January 21, 2011) and the revised submittal (dated September 2011) is the <br />estimate of maximum disturbed area and average pit depth. This is because the original <br />submittal assumed that the entire amended area would be mined out prior to any <br />reclamation (51 disturbed acres). In the revised submittal, it was anticipated that <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />