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Rules on Nov. 9, 2012, and documented its ineligibility for intermittent status. Cotter <br />Corporation filed a Notice of Temporary Cessation for the JD -9 in effect from Dec. 15, 2012. <br />Unfortunately, allowing Cotter Corporation to enter a period of temporary cessation at the JD -9 <br />allows the company, once again, to maintain the status quo and avoid a full reclamation of a <br />mine that has been idle for three decades and poses significant concerns for the environment and <br />water quality. Therefore, we object to the current Notice of Temporary Cessation for the <br />following reasons: <br />1) The Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act speaks unambiguously of the production of ore <br />as a requirement for retaining a reclamation permit at C.R.S. § 34- 32- 103(6)(a)(I) by specifically <br />requiring that an operator "engage in the extraction of minerals" in order for a reclamation <br />permit to remain in effect. The only exceptions to this requirement are for a mine to either be in <br />full reclamation or to be in an approved period of temporary cessation, limited to two five -year <br />periods. Neither exception applies to this mine. In its annual reports in August 2004 and August <br />2005, Cotter reported that the mine was in active production, yet it did not report any actual <br />production numbers or actual mining, presumably because production was minimal or even <br />nonexistent. In a July 26, 1990, notice to the Division, Cotter stated that production at the JD -9 <br />had been suspended in 1980. Throughout the history of the permit since 1977, Cotter has <br />provided insufficient information in its annual reports to fully document mining activities, in <br />violation of the Division's requirements. <br />2) The JD -9 Mine was in two consecutive periods of temporary cessation that lasted until Dec. <br />5, 1990, when the Division approved a technical revision to change the mine to intermittent <br />status, even though Cotter did not meet the legal requirements of that status, which requires it to <br />continue operating and produce ore on an annual basis. The permit continued in that unlawful <br />status for the next 22 years. <br />3) The Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act states unequivocally that a mine must be <br />reclaimed after a decade of inactivity. The law says: "In no case shall temporary cessation of <br />production be continued for more than ten years without terminating the operation and fully <br />complying with the reclamation requirements of this article." [Please see C.R.S. § 34 -32- 103(6) <br />(a)(III).] Because the JD -9 has not "produced" as required by the Act, Cotter is ineligible for an <br />additional five -year period of temporary cessation. <br />4) Denial of the Notice of Temporary Cessation status is consistent with Colorado law and will <br />help bring this mine into prompt compliance once the attached injunction applicable to the <br />Department of Energy lease tracts is lifted. The pending federal court injunction was issued on <br />Oct. 18, 2011, and modified on Feb. 27, 2012, and cannot serve to excuse decades of inactivity <br />and deferred reclamation at this or other uranium mines <br />The injunction and the attached letter from Department of Justice attorney Marissa Pirapato <br />confirm that Cotter is carrying out maintenance and other activities at these and other federally <br />