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Allowing Cotter Corporation to enter another period of temporary cessation at the JD -7 allows <br />the company, once again, to maintain the status quo and avoid a full reclamation of a mine that <br />has never produced ore, has been idle for three decades and poses significant concerns for the <br />environment and water quality. Therefore, we object to the current Notice of Temporary <br />Cessation for the 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. Because the JD -7 has not "produced" as <br />required by the Act, Cotter is ineligible for an additional five -year period of temporary cessation. <br />2) The JD -7 was in two consecutive periods of temporary cessation that lasted until Feb. 25, <br />1991, when the Division approved a technical revision to change the mine to intermittent status, <br />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 has continued in that <br />unlawful status for an additional 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).] Having already spent 10 years with this status at the JD -7, Cotter is not entitled to wipe <br />the slate clean and start again. <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 />leased mines. As Judge Martinez recognized, the precise extent of allowable activities at these <br />sites cannot be determined in the abstract. [Please see Injunction at 5 -6.] Instead, the Division <br />and the Board should make their regulatory determinations based on site - specific information <br />and take action consistent with Colorado reclamation laws that prevent such sites from <br />languishing for decades. Should the Division or the Board encounter a ripe situation where the <br />injunction may pose a barrier to maintenance, stabilization, or reclamation activities necessary to <br />comply with Colorado law, please contact Jeff Parsons or Travis Stills, the attorneys representing <br />plaintiffs (including INFORM), in the litigation. <br />