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BEFORE THE MINED LAND RECLAMATION BOARD <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />IN THE MATTER OF WESTERN FUELS — COLORADO LLC, NEW HORIZON MINE, <br />PERMIT No. C -1981 -001 <br />APPLICANT'S BRIEF OF ISSUES FOR THE FORMAL HEARING ON PR -06 <br />Western Fuels — Colorado, LLC ( "WFC ") submits the following brief of issues that WFC will <br />present for consideration by the Mined Land Reclamation Board (the "Board ") at the formal <br />hearing scheduled for November 17 and 18, 2010. The issues for the hearing were identified in <br />Section III of the Proposed Pre - Hearing Order of the Hearing Officer dated November 4, 2010. <br />I. Hearing Issue No. 1— Post Mining Land Use <br />A. Overview <br />Under 2 CCR 407 -2, Rule 2.05.5, a plan of reclamation "shall contain a detailed narrative of the <br />proposed use, following reclamation of the land within the proposed permit area." In accordance <br />with land use categories established in the narrative, the plan shall include a discussion of the <br />utility and capacity of the reclaimed land to support a variety of alternative uses, and the <br />relationship of the proposed use to existing land use policies and plans. <br />In PR -06, this discussion appears in Section 2.05.4(2)(e) ( WFC Exhibit 16) and in particular <br />Map 2.05.4 -5 ( WFC Exhibit 24) which displays post - mining vegetation and land use. As <br />discussed more fully below, the post - mining land use for each area is a function of the <br />availability of water. WFC used a methodology developed by NRCS scientist Jim Boyd to <br />calculate the acreage that could be successfully irrigated using the water available to irrigate the <br />subject land. See, Attachment 2.05.4(2)(e) — 11, ( WFC Exhibit 37) and WFC Exhibits 35 and <br />36 (letters from Jim Boyd, NRCS concerning irrigation issues). The land use determined using <br />this methodology is also consistent with the land use plans of the owner of the respective <br />properties. <br />B. Discussion in Response to Objections <br />In memos from 2005 and 2006 ( WFC Exhibit 2) , DRMS asked WFC to demonstrate the <br />availability of water for irrigated post mine land uses, since WFC was proposing to reclaim 77 <br />more acres of irrigated land compared to the amount in the pre -mine survey. It was determined <br />that the proposed irrigated areas were too large for the amount of water available, and a new <br />evaluation was required. This evaluation involved calculating the number of acres of irrigated <br />land based on the available water shares from the Colorado Cooperative Company (CCC) Ditch <br />for each landowner's parcel that was being disturbed as part of the New Horizon Mine. This led <br />to an overall reduction in the amount of land that could be reclaimed to irrigated post mining <br />land uses in the New Horizon Minc area. <br />