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Introduction <br />This document is the proposed decision of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (the <br />Division) in response to a request for Phase I bond release at the Yoast Mine, Division file number C -1994- <br />082. The package contains four parts. These include: 1) procedures and summary of the bond release <br />process; 2) criteria and schedule for bond release; 3) observations and findings of the Division regarding <br />compliance with the bond release requirements of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act <br />and regulations promulgated thereunder; and 4) the Division's proposed decision on the request for bond <br />release. <br />Detailed information about the review process can be found in the Act and the Regulations of the Colorado <br />Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining. All Rules referenced within this document are contained <br />within the Regulations. Detailed information about the mining and reclamation operations can be found in <br />the permit application on file at the Division offices, located at 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215, in Denver, <br />Colorado. <br />The Yoast Mine is a surface mine which was permitted and operated by Seneca Coal Company, LLC <br />(SCC). The ownership of the land for which bond release has been requested is Federal, state and private, <br />and the coal ownership was Federal and private. During the life of mine operations, SCC disturbed a total <br />of 848.6 acres. Mining operations took place in three major areas of the Yoast Mine — the North Pit, the <br />Neck Pit, and the South Pit; coal production ceased entirely in February 2006. In addition to the pit areas, <br />there is a three mile long access road corridor linking the mining area to Routt County Road 27. <br />Reclamation for which bond release has been requested was conducted between 2007 and 2011. Mining at <br />the Yoast Mine has ceased, and nearly all reclamation activities are complete. Monitoring and maintenance <br />is ongoing, and more recently work has been underway on areas of the reclamation that were involved in <br />landslide activity in the spring of 2011 (near Pond 012, Pond 013, and the Neck Pit). <br />Page 2 of 27 <br />Yoast Mine SL -4 <br />