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Proposal to Rremedy Downslope Erosion Below <br />Portal BOnches at Mlnes 1, 3 and 4 <br />The steep nature of these slopes combined with the poor growth <br />characteristics of the Mancos Shale material of which the slopes <br />are comprised make revegetation extremely difficult. Natural <br />Mancos Shale slopes exist all around the immediate area and they <br />have not vegetated in many thousands of years. <br />Mid - Continent Resources proposes to employ the following <br />measures to reduce perceived impacts of the downslope areas: <br />1) Construct rock and gravel filter berms at the toe of the <br />downslopes which will not detain runoff water, but will <br />slow it down so that most sediment will settle behind the <br />berm. In areas where sufficient rock is not available, <br />slash timber may be used. If the rock and gravel filters <br />are installed properly, runoff from the slopes will be <br />approximately equal in quality to the natural slopes of <br />the surrounding area. The map sections show the berms at <br />all three sites although two downslope areas at Mine #1 <br />cannot be protected in this way. The terrain is too <br />steep and the toe of the area is inaccessible. These <br />filter berms can be installed as soon as weather permits. <br />2) Immediately after portal bench reclamation, a contour <br />ditch will be installed at the upper edge of the slopes <br />to prevent water from travelling down them. This should <br />aid the revegetation effort. <br />The above actions represent best management practices and <br />good -faith efforts to remediate the pre -law downslopes at Mines #1, <br />3 and 4. MCR cannot guarantee the success of these actions and no <br />future work is proposed once the final backfilling and grading of <br />the portal benches is completed in accordance with the currently <br />approved reclamation plan. <br />