2012-12-06_REVISION - C1981008 (4)

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Reclaimed Area - Phase III 21.5 Acre Study Area - 2008 Production. The production of desirable perennial plants averaged 65.52 grams per quarter square meter or 2,335.1 pounds of air -dry forage per acre. According to the sample adequacy equation found in Rule 4.15.11(2)(a), sample adequacy at the 90 percent confidence level, for "desirable forage production," was determined to equal 47.5 transects and 30 transects were sampled. The data collected from the Irrigated Pasture Reference Area sampling performed in 2008 by BIO- Logic, Inc. are contained in the attached report entitled Western Fuels Colorado, LLC New Horizon Mine - 2008 Vegetation Studies for Bond Release - Phase 3 First Year Analysis: Irrigated Pasture, issued on 6 October 2008. Data found in Appendix A, Table A4. Vegetation cover data and summary statistics, 2008 Irrigated Pasture Reference Area, of the 2008 report and have been modified to confirm with the current bond release requirements found on page 10 of the DRMS Bond Release Guideline and the current NHN Mine Permit. These data are presented in Appendix 1 - Table 2, Irrigated Pasture Reference Area - 2008 Plant Cover. The percent absolute cover by species, rock, bare ground, litter and relative cover are found in Appendix 1 - Table 2, Irrigated Pasture Reference Area - 2008 Plant Cover. Average "allowable plant cover" was 58.00 percent. According to the sample adequacy equation found in Rule 4.15.11(2)(a), sample adequacy at the 90 percent confidence level was achieved for "allowable plant cover" with 10.3 transects and 16 transects were sampled. The production sampling data are found in Appendix A., Table A4, Vegetation production data and summary statistics, 2208 Irrigated Pasture Reference Area, of the 2008 report and have been modified to confirm with the current bond release requirements as found on page 10 of the DRMS Bond Release Guideline and to be consistent with the current definitions found in the NH2 Mine Permit. The production of desirable perennial grasses and perennial forbs are found in Appendix 1 - Table 5, Irrigated Pasture Reference Area - 2008 Production. Desirable forage production averaged 46.41 grams per one quarter square meter or 1,654.1 pounds of air -dry forage per acre. According to the sample adequacy equation found in Rule 4.15.11(2)(a), sample adequacy at the 90 percent confidence level, for "desirable forage production," was determined to equal 82.6 transects and 31 transects were sampled. 2009 Phase III Revegetation Monitoring The results obtained from this monitoring effort performed by BIO- Logic, Inc. are contained in the attached report entitled Western Fuels Colorado, LLC New Horizon Mine - 2009 Vegetation Studies for Phase 3 Bond Release - First and Second Year Analysis: Irrigated Pasture, issued on 31 August 2009. Two Irrigated Pasture Reclaimed Areas were studied for final bond release in 2009, including the previously identified IP- 2 (21.5 acre) tract initially studied in 2008 along with a new IP -3 20.5 acre tract located immediately west and adjacent to the IP -2 tract as found on Map R -1, SL -14 Bond Release Map. The 2009 revegetation monitoring effort represented the second year of final bond release sampling on the IP -2 tract and the first year of final bond release SL -14 03DEC12.wpd 42