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<br />STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br /> <br />DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY <br />Department of Natural Resources <br /> <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866-3567 <br />FAX: (303) 832-8106 <br /> <br /> <br />John W. Hickenlooper <br /> <br />Governor <br />June 29, 2012 <br /> <br />Mike King <br /> <br />Executive Director <br />Mr. John Merrill <br /> <br /> <br />County Attorney <br />Loretta E. Pineda <br /> <br />Director <br />Routt County <br /> <br />P. O. Box 773598 <br />Steamboat Springs, CO 80477 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Re: Routt County Road 27 Roundabout <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Merrill: <br /> <br />It was recently brought to our attention that a seam or deposit of what appeared to be coal or a coal-like material was <br />uncovered during the construction of a Routt County Road 27 roundabout. Colorado law at 34-33-129 states, “The <br />provisions of this article [33, the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act] shall not apply to any of the <br />following activities:…(c) The extraction of coal as an incidental part of federal, state, or local government-financed <br />highway or other construction under regulations established by the [Colorado Mined Land Reclamation] board”. <br />Further, Section 1.05.1(1)(b) of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining (2 <br />CCR 407-2) states, “These rules shall apply to all coal exploration and surface coal mining and reclamation <br />operations, except…the extraction of coal as an incidental part of Federal, State or local government financed <br />highway or other construction; however, any person extracting coal incident to government financed highway or <br />other construction who extracts more than 250 tons of coal shall maintain, on the site of the extraction operation and <br />available for inspection, appropriate documents for the construction”. <br /> <br />Based upon information gathered by our staff during a site visit this month of the Routt County Road 27 roundabout <br />construction project, and upon your June 6, 2012 e-mail to us regarding the project, we have decided that the project <br />is “government-financed” as referenced in our law and regulations, and therefore exempt from our laws, rules and <br />jurisdiction. <br /> <br />We appreciate your assistance in helping us resolve this matter. Should you have any questions regarding our <br />decision, please feel free to contact me at 303-866-3567, ext 8126. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br /> <br />Daniel I. Hernandez <br />Senior Environmental Protection Specialist <br /> <br />cc: Mr. B. Scott Cowman, Peabody Sage Creek Mining LLC <br />Mr. Jerry Nettleton, Twentymile Coal, LLC <br />Office of Office of <br /> <br />Mined Land Reclamation Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines <br />