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approval of the reclamation plan must demonstrate it will restore your property to a condition <br />capable of supporting the use and productivity it was capable of supporting prior to mining. <br />New potential violations you have brought to our attention are: WFC moved boundary markers <br />delineating the 51 acres that had been mined before your property was designated as prime <br />farmland by approximately 50 feet; that permit documents are not available during court <br />proceedings and copying of permit documents at the courthouse is not allowed; and that subsoil <br />sampling activities are not conducted appropriately. Moving boundary markers delineating <br />significant boundaries on your property alleges a violation of Colorado Rule 4.02.4. This Rule <br />requires signs and markers to be maintained during the conduct of all activities to which they <br />pertain. Permit documents being unavailable for public review during court proceedings and <br />copying of permit documents at the courthouse not being allowed alleges violations of Rule <br />2.07.3(4)(a). This Rule requires that permit documents be available for public review and <br />copying. Subsoil sampling activities not being conducted appropriately alleges a permit <br />violation. Permit Document 2.05.4(2)(d) subsection 4.0, Regraded Spoil Monitoring Program, <br />indicates a sampling grid with 1 sample collected every 2.5 acres being evaluated for 9 criteria <br />(pH, electrical conductivity, saturation percentage, sodium adsorption ratio, exchangeable <br />sodium, calcium carbonate, USDA soil texture, Boron, and rock fragments). This sampling <br />methodology was designed to give an accurate representation of spoil characteristics and must be <br />conducted in a scientifically sound manner. We are required to provide DRMS the opportunity to <br />address these alleged violations through the TDN process and will promptly notify you of the <br />results. <br />You express concern about the pond on your property. The rule you allude to, 4.25.2(4), is <br />analogous to Federal rule 30 CFR 785.17(e)(5). These rules pertain to permanent impoundments <br />which would be retained after bond release, and ensure that total prime farmland acreage is not <br />decreased as a result of such permanent impoundments (53 FR 40828). Temporary <br />sedimentation ponds are required by our regulatory program during mining and reclamation <br />operations to prevent the loss of sediment off of disturbed areas and to ensure surface water <br />quality meets applicable effluent limitations. Pond 11, designed for your property, is National <br />Pollutant Discharge Eliminations System (NPDES) outfall monitoring point #11 for the New <br />Horizon Mine. This pond is necessary during the course of mining and reclamation operations, <br />and it will be reclaimed / removed no sooner than two years after the surrounding area has been <br />reseeded. This delay in the reclamation of sedimentation ponds is required by Rule 4.05.2(2). <br />Sedimentation ponds receive and treat surface water runoff from the surrounding disturbed area. <br />Vegetation is the primary means of stabilizing the ground surface and preventing the loss of <br />sediment or soil off of the permit area. Ponds are temporarily retained to allow vegetation to <br />establish and stabilize the surrounding area. This pond will not be retained permanently, and the <br />aggregate total of your prime farmland acreage will not be decreased. <br />This letter is also meant to inform you that we are deferring our determinations on the State's <br />responses to ten day notices (TDN) #X11-140-182-002 and #X11-140-117-001, as well as the <br />revised response to #X11- 140 - 182 -001 (pertaining to rock picking activities), pending our <br />review of PR -06. All matters raised in these TDN's are related to our PR -06 review. Our PR -06 <br />review requires additional evaluation time and input from several technical experts. It is our <br />opinion that concluding our determinations regarding PR -06 will be key to gaining a <br />comprehensive understanding of the multiple issues you have raised and of the TDN responses <br />the State has provided. This level of understanding is necessary to make a valid determination <br />on the State's responses as well as on PR -06 as a whole. We will promptly notify you when we <br />