Laserfiche WebLink
The land for which bond release has been requested is owned by Colowyo; the coal is Federal <br />(BLM) owned. Reclamation work for which bond release has been requested was conducted in <br />calendar year 2012. <br />ILPROCEDURES AND SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW PROCESS <br />The Colowyo Coal Company ( Colowyo) applied for a Phase I Bond Release for 137.4 disturbed <br />acres as shown on Exhibit 1 of the SL -07 application (the acreage was reduced as discussed below). <br />This area is located in Moffat County, Colorado. The bond release areas are located in the Mine's <br />East Pit, West Pit and South Taylor areas, in portions of Township 3 North, Range 93 West (6th <br />Principal Meridian), Sections 3, 4, 10, 15, and 17. The permit area can be found on the USGS <br />Quadrangle 7.5 Minute Series Maps of Axial and Nine Mile Gap. The permit area and surface <br />ownership can be found on Map 1, and the coal ownership can be found on Map 2 of the Permit <br />Application Package (PAP). <br />Background <br />The East Pit and West Pit mining sites lie just west of the northward flowing Goodspring (also <br />referred to as Good Spring) Creek, which is paralleled by Colorado Highway 13. The area <br />includes gently sloping uplands and valleys that cut into the upland surface. These valleys are <br />generally narrow, v- shaped, and about 250 to 500 feet deep. Elevations range from <br />approximately 7,650 feet in the upper portion of East Pit reclamation to 6,950 feet near East <br />Taylor Pond. <br />Mining operations began in 1976 with the East Pit, a multi -seam coal operation that continued to <br />move in a southerly direction. Eight coal seams (Y, X, A, B, C, D, E, F) were mined from the <br />East Pit, ranging in thickness from two to fifteen feet. The East Pit is nearly 6,000 feet from east <br />to west (width), 1,000 feet in breadth (highwall to highwall), and 450 feet deep. Due to the <br />number of coal seams, immense size of the pit, and manpower and equipment employed, pit <br />progression was slow, with additional disturbances of approximately 40 to 50 acres per year. <br />Extraction of coal from the East Pit was terminated in 2006. Currently the only ongoing <br />operation in the East Pit is reclamation of the final cut, including backfilling and grading of the <br />pit and highwall reduction. <br />The still expanding, multi -seam West Pit is located to the west of the East Pit. The method of <br />operation utilized in, and the coal seams extracted from, the West Pit are the same as those of the <br />East Pit. The West Pit has approached the East Pit in overall size. Mining in the West Pit is <br />advancing from north to south, paralleling the movement of the adjacent East Pit. Projected life <br />of the West Pit is estimated to be until 2015, including potential highwall mining. <br />Colowyo is continuing to perform reclaim activities in the East Pit and West Pit. Reclamation in <br />the East Pit is expected to conclude in 2014 and in the West Pit in 2018. <br />Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance August 2013 <br />Partial Phase I Bond Release SL -07 Page 2 <br />