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Adequacy of the Reclamation Bond Amount <br /> Both the Division and the Office of Surface Mining have concluded <br /> that the cost of reclaiming the site to the permit standards will <br /> total approximately $3 million. <br /> The issue of the adequacy of the reclamation bond amount was <br /> resolved between the Office of Surface Mining and Colorado as a <br /> result of a Ten-Day Notice issued to the State by the AFO. In <br /> 1991, the AFO requested that the OSM Western Support Center <br /> calculate the cost a third party would incur to reclaim the Coal <br /> Basin Mines to the permit standards. As a result of this <br /> reclamation cost estimate, the AFO issued the State a Ten-Day <br /> Notice alleging that the amount of bond held jointly by Colorado <br /> and the OSM was insufficient to assure site reclamation. The <br /> State was provided a copy of the reclamation cost estimate which <br /> the OSM Western Support Center had developed. Review of the <br /> estimate revealed that two critical errors were made by the OSM <br /> Western Support Center when developing the estimate. The <br /> Division provided its analysis to the OSM Western Support Center, <br /> resulting in yet another recalculation of the estimated cost of <br /> reclamation by the OSM. This estimated cost was similar to the <br /> Colorado generated estimated cost of reclamation. <br /> On January 27, 1992, the Division received correspondence from <br /> Robert Hagen, Albuquerque Field Office Director. This <br /> correspondence states that Office of Surface Mining accepts the <br /> Colorado cost estimate, and states that the Division had <br /> demonstrated good cause for not taking action as directed by the <br /> Ten-Day Notice (Appendix 8) . <br /> Colorado exercised appropriate discretion in determining the bond <br /> amount in two ways. First, the State correctly calculated the <br /> cost of reclamation, by estimating, as did the OSM Western <br /> Support Center, the cost to reclaim the site to the permit <br /> conditions. Secondly, the State required that a bond in the <br /> amount necessary to accomplish reclamation be posted. <br /> Both the State of Colorado and the Office of Surface Mining have <br /> calculated the cost to reclaim the Coal Basin Mine based upon the <br /> approved reclamation plan in the permit. The cost of reclamation <br /> is estimated based upon the permit requirements because both the <br /> Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act and the Surface <br /> Mining Control and Reclamation Act require that this be done. <br /> The State statute at 34-33-113 (1) states that the amount of the <br /> bond shall be sufficient to ensure that " . . .the reclamation <br /> requirements of the approved permit. . . " can be achieved. The <br /> Federal statute at 30 U.S.C. 1259 Sec. 509 (a) contains the same <br /> language as the State statute (Appendix 17) . <br /> -12- <br />