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~..~ <br />III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />~,-w T . <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />Roy Romer, Govei <br />DEPARTMENT OFNATURALRESOURCES <br />MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVISION <br />DAVID C. SHELTON, Dlreetor <br />June 5, 1987 <br />Mr. Robert Hagen <br />Office of Surface Mining <br />Albuquerque Field Office <br />625 Silver Avenue, SW, Suite 310 <br />Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 <br />Re: La Plata Coal Corporation, Federal Cessation Order 87-2-244-1, File <br />No. C-87-072 <br />Dear Mr. Hagen: <br />With this letter I want to register my disappointment with the Office of <br />Surface Mining (OSM) Albuquerque Field Office's (AFO) management of a recent <br />inspection and enforcement situation. The case involves the La Plata Coal <br />Corporation and a Federal cessation order which was written to that <br />corporation on March 30, 1987. Although I know you are familiar with the <br />case, for the purpose of clarity I will first reiterate the facts and events <br />for you in this letter. I will then discuss the issues raised by this case in <br />the hopes that similar problems in the future may be avoided. <br />Facts and Sequence of Events <br />The mine site in question has been a historic problem for the State. The <br />Division forfeited the bond on the property in 1983 in the amount of <br />550,000.00. After forfeiture the Division learned that the IRS had attached <br />the assets of Sunbelt Mining, Inc. including the certificate of deposit held <br />as bond by the State. The Division brought suit to obtain the funds from the <br />certificate of deposit, but failed in that effort. The IRS, however, agreed <br />to give the State .610,000 for the purpose of reclaiming the site. In <br />addition, several unabated violations remained at the site after the <br />forfeiture. <br />In 1986, the Division commenced efforts to do the reclamation, Concurrent <br />with that effort La Plata Coal acquired rights to the property and informed <br />the Division that they were interested in determining whether the mine could <br />be reopened. An agreement was entered into between the Division and La Plata <br />Coal on December 26, 1986, which clarified what type of work could be done on <br />the property for which a permit was not needed. This work included abatement <br />of the violations that were caused by Sunbelt. Once La Plata Coal decided to <br />develop a mine, a permit application was submitted to the Division. This was <br />received on January 27, 1987. <br />423 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203-2273 Tel. (303) 866-3567 <br />