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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />July 19, 2022 <br /> <br />James Stark <br />Coal Program Supervisor <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br /> <br />Re: Partial Phase I Bond Release SL-21; Colowyo Coal Company, LP; Colowyo Coal Mine; C-1981-019 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Stark, <br /> <br />This letter acknowledges the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), Denver Field <br />Branch’s (DFB) receipt on June 27, 2022, and review of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and <br />Safety’s (DRMS) Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance pertaining to Colowyo Coal Company, LP’s <br />(Colowyo) SL-21 partial Phase I bond release application. OSMRE agrees with the proposed decision and hereby <br />provides concurrence in accordance with 30 CFR 740.15 (d)(3) and 30 CFR 906.30, Article IX, Section 24 of the <br />State-Federal Cooperative Agreement. <br /> <br />By letter dated April 14, 2022, DRMS invited OSMRE to attend the May 11, 2022 field inspection at the <br />Colowyo Mine. OSMRE and the BLM participated. The surface ownership associated with SL-21 is private and <br />state and the mineral ownership is federal and state. By memo dated July 19, 2022, the Bureau of Land <br />Management, Little Snake Field Office provided its concurrence with DRMS’s proposed decision. OSMRE <br />interprets this to mean Colowyo is in compliance with all stipulations associated with its federal coal leases. <br /> <br />DRMS’s proposed decision notes Colowyo’s compliance with the approved Colorado regulatory program at Rule <br />3.03.1 (2) (a) and recommends approving partial Phase I bond release on 13.3 acres at the Colowyo Mine. DRMS <br />currently holds a performance bond in the amount of $130,000,000.00 which covers the entire permit area <br />including the acreage proposed for release. Under SL-21 DRMS proposes to release a total of $616,470.00 from <br />Phase I bond liability. OSMRE concurs with DRMS’s proposed decision. <br /> <br />Thank you and your staff for coordinating this bond release action through the OSMRE Denver Field Branch. <br />Please direct any questions to Dan MacKinnon, AML and Regulatory Program Specialist, at <br />dmackinnon@osmre.gov. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Howard E. Strand, Manager <br />Denver Field Branch <br /> <br />C: Tony Tennyson <br /> <br /> <br />United States Department of the Interior <br /> <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />Reclamation and Enforcement <br />Western Region Office <br />P.O. Box 25065 <br />Lakewood, Colorado 80225