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Roads and Support Facilities <br />To provide access in the area for ranching purposes, the haul road from Highway 13 will be left <br />in place after mining is complete. The haul road will be narrowed from 26 to 12 feet, the asphalt <br />removed, side slopes reduced to 4:1 and the sides revegetated. <br />All mine support facilities are to be removed during final reclamation. Drilled holes and <br />underground openings will be closed when no longer needed for approved mine operation. <br />Ponds, Stock Tanks, and Ditches <br />All sediment control ponds and diversion ditches are to be removed during final reclamation of <br />the site. To support the proposed post mining land use, small water impoundments (stock tanks) <br />will be left to encourage an even distribution of grazing over the reclaimed site and to enhance <br />the areas for wildlife. These ponds will also replace the existing water rights associated with the <br />stock ponds that currently exist on the site. <br />Backfilling and Grading <br />All highwalls will be eliminated. Spoil will be graded to slopes no steeper than 3:1 (three <br />horizontal to one vertical). Reconstructed stream gradients will approximate those of the <br />pre- mining streams, and stream channels will be restructured to complement regional stream <br />patterns. Contour furrows will be constructed to reduce erosion. Overall, Colowyo's reclamation <br />plan will serve to achieve contemporaneous reclamation and approximate original contour. <br />However, a variance to Rule 4.14.1(1)(c) was granted during the initial permitting process to <br />backfill as contemporaneously as practical in lieu of the 180 -day or four - spoil- ridges <br />requirement. Additionally, with the approval of Permit Revision 02, the Division has granted a <br />variance to Rule 4.14.1(1)(c) for the South Taylor Pit. <br />Five valley fills have been permitted for the disposal of excess spoil. There are three valley fills <br />that are already constructed. Streeter Fill is at the north edge of the East Pit. West Pit Fill is <br />adjacent to the Taylor Draw northwest of the West Pit. Section 16 Fill is in a sub - drainage along <br />the West Fork of Good Spring Creek. Both the Streeter Fill and the Section 16 Fill have <br />undergone a Phase II Bond Release, and the requirement for quarterly inspections of the fills has <br />been terminated. <br />Two additional valley fills were approved with Permit Revision 02 and are being constructed. <br />These fills are designed for disposal of the initial box -cut spoil from the South Taylor Pit. The <br />West Taylor Fill is being constructed in the West Fork of upper Taylor Creek and the East <br />Taylor Fill is being constructed in the East Fork of upper Taylor Creek. When completed, East <br />Taylor Fill will have three underdrains to match the three forks of the East Fork of upper Taylor <br />Creek. <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance January 2012 <br />Permit Renewal 06 Page 123 <br />