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,, l~ STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Depanmenl of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman 51.. Room 215 Denver, Colorado R0203 Phone. 13031 R66-7567 FA%: IJOII R32-8106 June 25, 1996 Roy Romer Governor Mr. Stan Garvey P. O. Box 555 Nucla, CO 81424 RE: DMG RESPONSES TO YOUR Mine 1 -Area 3 -Western Fuel Permit No. C-81-008 -Bond ] Dear Mr. Garvey: 6, 1996 LETTER - Phase I Bond Release ado -The New Horizon Mine No. SL-03 ~~~~~ DEPARTMEIJT OF NATURAL RESOURCES lames 5. Lochhead Executive Dueuor Michael B Long Division Director We received your June 6, 1996 letter, pertaining to the New Horizon Mine Bond Release Request for Area 3 in Mine 1, on June 12, 1996 On June 19, 1996, we provided you a preliminary response from our office. We also committed to providing an additional letter responding to your concerns with the backfilling and grading in Area 3. We wish to address these issues herein. During the summer of 1991, Peabody Coal Company received approval from the Division to reclaim the 5-W Pit to its current co~griration. This was done through Technical Revision TR-04 to the Nucla (now New Horizon) Mine permit. The reason Peabody provided for having to revise the reclamation topography was that the ratio of overburden to coal in the 5-W Pit had become uneconomic for scrapers to continue operations. This necessitated ceasing mining operations in that pit. As the 5-W Pit did not extend as far north as planned, the volume of overburden that was to be generated for use in backfilling and grading the 5-W Pit did not reach the level anticipated by Peabody Coal Company. As such, Peabody reclaimed the 5-W Pit with the material available, and while the pit may not appear to have beenreclaimed in the best manner, the Division determined in 1991 that the reclamation plans wereiinlaccordance with State regulations I~ Western Fuels took over this site after 5-W Pit in the fall of 1995. During the the company's aerial-photography-genei computers to verify that the post-mining. approved under TR-04. Previous to this pit twice in 1993, surveying the topogrz reconstructed topography. Finally, Mr further ensure the mine site topography 1 that Mr. Ranney reviewed in the spring Mr. Ranney informed me earlier this to our attention when he conducted his 1. They submitted their bond release request for the ng of 1996, Mr. Harry Ranney of our office reviewed i post-mining topography map. He used one of our ography was constructed in accordance with the plans nputer evaluation, Mr. Ranney was on site at the 5-W r with our digital surveying instruments, [o verify the anney was on site at the mine on April 23, 1996 to not been altered since the date of the aerial photograph 1996. that he had not seen the highwall cracks you brought Release Inspection in April 1996. We have, however,