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Table of Contents <br />L Introduction <br />II. Procedures and Summary of Bond Release Process <br />III. Criteria and Schedule for Bond Release <br />IV. Observations and Findings <br />V. Proposed Decision <br />I. INTRODUCTION <br />This document is the proposed decision of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and <br />Safety (Division) in response to a request for Phase II Bond Release at the West Elk Mine, Permit <br />Number C- 1980 -007, bond release application number SL -04. The package contains five parts. <br />These include: 1) Introduction; 2) Procedures and Summary of the Bond Release Process; 3) <br />Criteria and Schedule for Bond Release; 4) Observations and Findings of the Division regarding <br />compliance with the bond release requirements of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining and <br />Reclamation Act and regulations promulgated there under; and 5) the Division's Proposed Decision <br />on the request for bond release. <br />Detailed information about the review process can be found in the Act and the Regulations of the <br />Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining. All Rules referenced within this <br />document are contained within the Regulations. Detailed information about the mining and <br />reclamation operations can be found in the permit application on file at the Division offices, located <br />at 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215, in Denver, Colorado. <br />The West Elk Mine is an underground coal mine, which is permitted and operated by the Mountain <br />Coal Company, LLC (MCC). Land for which bond release has been requested is both federally <br />owned and privately owned, and the coal mined was federally owned and privately owned. The <br />partial Phase II Bond Release application is for the successful replacement of topsoil and the <br />reseeding of these areas to control erosion for 67.6 acres of lands reclaimed between 1996 and <br />2008. The areas included the Lone Pine Gulch facilities area, the 2000 thermal event area and <br />methane drainage well pads and roads from nine different drilling areas. A total of 61 locations <br />were included in the SL -04 application. A detailed list of the locations, acreages and years of <br />reclamation can be found in the partial Phase II Bond Release SL -04 application package. More <br />details regarding the criteria for a Phase II Bond Release and observations at the West Elk Mine can be <br />found below in sections III and IV, respectively. <br />IL PROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />The Mountain Coal Company, LLC (MCC) applied for Partial Phase II Bond Release under the <br />Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act following reclamation of a portion of the West Elk <br />Mine. The mine is located in Gunnison and Delta Counties, approximately 10 miles east of Paonia, <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance 7 July 2013 <br />Partial Phase II Bond Release SL -04 Page 1 <br />