2012-07-25_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981019

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during 1978-1999. II.PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS The Colowyo Coal Company (Colowyo) applied for a Phase III Bond Release for 987.32 disturbed acres, as shown on Exhibits 1 of the SL-05 application. The mine area is located in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado. The bond release areas are located in the Mine’s East Pit and West Pit areas, in Moffat County, in portions of Township 3 North, Range 93 West (T3N R93W) of the 6th Principal Meridian, Sections 3, 4, 10, 11 and 16. The permit area can be found on the USGS Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series Maps of Axial and Nine Mile Gap. The permit area and surface ownership can be found on Colowyo Permit Map 1 and the coal ownership can be found on Colowyo Permit Map 2. Background The Colowyo Mine is located in northwest Colorado, approximately 25 miles north of the town of Meeker, CO and 25 miles south of the town of Craig, CO in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties off of Colorado State Highway 13. The total permit area encompasses 12,250.95 acres. The East Pit and West Pit mining sites lie just west of the northward flowing Goodspring (also referred to as Good Spring) Creek, which is paralleled by Colorado Highway 13. The area is a gently sloping upland ranging from about 7,640 feet near the southwest corner to 6,560 feet near the northeast corner of the permit area. Valleys that cut into the upland surface are generally narrow, V-shaped, and about 250 to 500 feet deep. The topographic surface north of the East Pit and West Pit mining sites is dominated by two ridges about two miles long, trending north- northeast, bounded by Goodspring, Taylor and Wilson Creeks. Mining operations began in 1976 with the East Pit, a multi-seam coal operation that continued to move in a southerly direction. Eight coal seams (Y, X, A, B, C, D, E, F) were mined from the East Pit, ranging in thickness from two to fifteen feet. The East Pit is nearly 6,000 feet from east to west (width), 1,000 feet in breadth (highwall to highwall), and 450 feet deep. Due to the number of coal seams, immense size of the pit, and manpower and equipment employed, pit progression was slow, with additional disturbances of approximately 40 to 50 acres per year. The East Pit reached a steady state where acreage disturbed approximately equaled acreage reclaimed in any given year. However, reclamation of the East Pit disturbed areas was modified with the placement of West Pit development excess spoil. Extraction of coal from the East Pit was terminated in 2006. Currently the only ongoing operation in the East Pit is reclamation of the final cut, including backfilling and grading of the pit and highwall reduction. The still expanding, multi-seam West Pit is located to the west of the East Pit. The method of operation utilized in, and the coal seams extracted from, the West Pit are the same as those of the East Pit. The West Pit has approached the East Pit in overall size. Mining in the West Pit advances from north to south, paralleling the movement of the adjacent East Pit. Projected life of the West Pit is estimated to be until 2017, including potential highwall mining. Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance 25 July 2012 Partial Phase III Bond Release Sl-05 Page 2