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5. As initially approved in PR -5 on June 1, 2000, the permit did not designate the existence of <br />prime farmland on the Morgan property, but did require that two separate lifts of <br />topsoil/subsoil be salvaged and stockpiled for later redistribution on the reclaimed lands as <br />two separate layers of topdressing materials. More specifically, PR -5 required separate <br />salvage of 1.14 feet of the A horizon as the first lift, and 2.26 feet of the lower -A and upper - <br />B horizon as a second lift of topdressing material to be used in reclamation. From the data <br />available, it appears the 1.14 feet of first lift represented about 85% of the A horizon <br />materials present, while the 2.26 feet represented about 75% of the B horizon materials <br />present on the Morgan's prime farmland property. As will be discussed further under item <br />19 below, these soil handling requirements were substantially weakened' in later permit <br />revision applications approved by DRMS in 2001 and 2002, and further modified in 2008. <br />6. In 2004, the active pit mined by WFC first entered the Morgan property. Mining was <br />conducted on the property in accordance with PR -5, described above. <br />7. On November 13, 2007, WFC submitted its application for renewal of its permit for the <br />Mine, RN -5, to DRMS. On November 27, 2007, DRMS determined that the application was <br />complete. In a letter to WFC dated January 14, 2008, DRMS provided preliminary <br />comments on the application. The letter requested that WFC submit a permit revision <br />application to address the issues of pre - mining land use, post - mining land use, topsoil <br />salvage and replacement, and revegetation no later than March 17, 2008. DRMS's proposed <br />decision regarding RN -5 was delayed until issues addressing soil management on prime <br />farmlands were resolved through TR -57. <br />8. As a result of your calls and correspondence in December of 2007, DRMS initiated a <br />reevaluation of its negative prime farmland determination. On January 14, 2008, DRMS <br />requested a review by NRCS of the prime farmlands determination for the Morgan property. <br />NRCS responded on February 11, 2008, and explained that the Colorado Important <br />Farmland Inventory document used in the PR -5 baseline evaluation contained an error <br />wherein the threshold pH should have been 8.4 instead of 7.4. NRCS also stated that the <br />Colorado Important Farmland Inventory, which was put together sometime around 1980, is <br />now rendered obsolete and that any and all determinations for prime farmland would tie <br />directly back solely to the national criteria. At the time, WFC had already mined through a <br />portion of the Morgan property and topsoil had been stripped from 51.6 acres. <br />9. Once it was discovered that certain soil types within the New Horizon Mine permit area met <br />the regulatory definition of "prime farmlands," a meeting was convened on February 15, <br />2008, between representatives of DRMS, WFC, and NRCS to establish the extent of prime <br />farmlands and to make immediate adjustments to soil handling procedures in an effort to be <br />consistent with regulations governing mining and reclamation of prime farmlands. As a <br />result of the February 15, 2008, meeting and a subsequent February 29, 2008, field <br />inspection, DRMS directed WFC to make immediate on- the - ground changes to the topsoil <br />salvage and stockpiling operations on the Morgan property and to implement a sampling and <br />testing program for evaluating subsoil and topsoil replaced on those areas already mined <br />through. <br />'As defined by DRMS in a letter to WFC dated May 18, 2010. <br />3 <br />