Laserfiche WebLink
GLA Comment No. 2 <br /> Response: Regarding the use of straw mulch, it is one of the most economical <br /> means of addressing the need for mulch. If the point of the objection to <br /> methods of revegetation at Coal Basin is cost, questioning the use of perhaps <br /> the cheapest material available seems illogical. It is true that straw is moved <br /> by wind and that under ideal conditions, it is desirable to hold it down by some <br /> means. Again, if this were a flatlands project, the anchoring of straw that <br /> could proceed would result in a more effective mulch cover. However, the <br /> slopes involved on much of the Coal Basin site are too steep for the usual <br /> crimping equipment to operate and the limited benefit of the mulch is all that <br /> can be realized. <br /> The effectiveness of straw on the steep slopes at the Coal Basin site will be <br /> limited to locations where the straw lodges and resists the winds. Under ideal <br /> circumstances, applied mulch would remain evenly in place across the entire <br /> revegetation area. However, the windy conditions at high altitude would make <br /> this difficult to achieve in any case, and the steepness and inaccessibility of the <br /> slopes involved at Coal Basin make it impossible to apply materials or use <br /> equipment that might reduce the amount of wind redistribution of straw. <br /> Despite the redistribution of the straw applied, some benefit accrues, and <br /> contributes to the establishment of vegetation. <br /> Mine #4 Downslope Revegetation Work <br /> GLA Comment No. 3 <br /> Response: I disagree with the assertion that benches do not ameliorate the <br /> negative effects of the oversteepened slopes. "Depressions" and benches that <br /> might be sought on the steep slopes fall into a more general category of <br /> "surface roughness" that reflects greater diversity of microtopography. The <br /> 12 <br />