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resulted in their being excluded from the approved bond release areas, and the Division also <br />excluded the watershed areas draining to the unstable drainages. No previous Phase I bond release <br />requests have been made for the remaining areas under review with this (SL -4) bond release <br />application. <br />The SL -4 Phase I bond release application was received by the Division on June 1, 2012. The <br />application was deemed complete on July 13, 2012, after the Division received proof of publication <br />of the applicant's public notice. Seneca Coal Company, LLC published notice of the bond release <br />application in Steamboat Pilot once weekly for four consecutive weeks, beginning June 3, 2012. <br />Seneca Coal Company, LLC also notified land owners within and adjacent to the mine permit area, <br />and other interested parties of the application for bond release, as required by Rule 3.03.2(1). No <br />comments, written objections, or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release <br />application were received by the Division. <br />The Division scheduled and conducted a bond release inspection on August 8, 2012. The site <br />inspection was conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2). Present during the inspection were <br />Christine Belka, Dan McKinnon, and Spencer Shumate of the Office of Surface Mining; Roy Karo <br />of Seneca Coal Company, LLC; Jay James, consultant for Seneca Coal Company, LLC; and Susan <br />Burgmaier of the Division. Details of the observations made during the inspection can be found in <br />the August 13, 2012 inspection report issued by the Division. Although all of the landowners of the <br />release area and adjacent areas were notified of the inspection by certified mail, none attended the <br />inspection. <br />During the adequacy review of the bond release application, the Division contacted <br />representatives from SCC to discuss the Division's opposition to allowing Phase I bond release <br />on any of the areas that were within identified landslide zones (Pond 012 slide, Pond 013 slide, <br />and the Neck Pit slide). The Division suggested that for consistency and ease of record keeping, <br />the areas of exclusion, would mirror those areas not yet Phase II released and /or along previously <br />identified slide boundaries. Accordingly, the Division determined that the entire polygons (as <br />shown on Exhibit A of the bond release application package) in the vicinities of Ponds 012, 013, <br />and 014 would not be evaluated for Phase I bond release at this time. <br />The Division discussed adequacy concerns with the operator prior to the August 8, 2012 bond <br />release inspection; an adequacy letter detailing those concerns was sent to the operator on <br />September 11, 2012. The adequacy letter identified a deficiency in the approved permit application <br />regarding the permanent status of Topsoil Stockpiles A and C, and a portion of the Yoast Access <br />Road. The Division requested a minor revision to the permit to rectify the two issues. SCC <br />submitted Minor Revision 40 on October 11, 2012; the revision was approved on October 22, 2012. <br />Both issues have been adequately addressed. <br />IL CRITERIA AND SCHEDULE FOR BOND RELEASE <br />Rule 3.03.1(2)(a) states, "Up to sixty percent of the applicable bond amount shall be released when <br />the permittee successfully completes backfilling, regrading, and drainage control in accordance with <br />the approved reclamation plan." With regard to Phase I bond release, the approved reclamation plan <br />for the Yoast Mine calls for: <br />Page 4 of 27 <br />Yoast Mine SL -4 <br />