2012-07-13_REPORT - M1988044 (3)

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near the plant and comes from pond cleanings. Overburden was exceptionally deep in some places which generated large volumes of overburden for backfilling. The overburden is being stockpiled adjacent to the mining areas so backfilling can be done easily and economically. All mining was in compliance with the depth requirements. Soil was salvaged as required. 2. Backfilling - No significant backfilling of mined areas was done in the last year. A. Depth of backfilling - No significant backfilling occurred. B. Material used in backfilling - No significant backfilling occurred. C. Maximum, minimum, and average slopes - Finished slopes in all the backfilled, graded and topsoiled areas are rarely even close to the 5:1 limit. Most are in the 7:1 to 15:1 or less steep range. No significant backfilling occurred. D. Deviation from original elevation for new backfilled land - No significant backfilling occurred. 3. Processing facilities - Nothing has changed here. 4. Access corridors - No change in access corridors. 5. New soil and overburden stockpiles - No changes occurred other than to add some material to the existing overburden and topsoil stockpiles. RECLAMATION ACTIVITY IN THE LAST YEAR: 1. Climatic summary of previous year - The last year exhibited a wide range of conditions. July 2011 was very wet, but lacked the intensity to produce flash flooding to any large extent. August saw record setting heat and dryness. Autumn was generally warm and dry, but late Autumn and early Winter saw slightly above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation. By March 2012 the climate turned exceptionally warm and dry and, with the exception of the intense storm event in early June 2012, the climatic patterns were similar to 2002 during the intense drought at that time. In early July 2012, a strong monsoon developed and intense precipitation occurred for a few days. The event in early June inflicted considerable damage from flooding. Although the site itself received only moderate to heavy rain, the most intense rains were further south on the Coal Creek and adjacent drainages. This produced intense flooding along the southern portions of the lease area. The road crossing in the South Lowland was washed out but was quickly patched by the oil companies. This flooding inflicted some localized scouring erosion downstream from the crossing where bedrock was actually exposed. Elsewhere, sedimentation and localized headward erosion was found along the stream course. Photo documentation was Status report for 2012 due July 15, 2012 Page 4 of 8