PUBLIC NOTICE
APPLICATION FOR BOND RELEASE
POKER FLATS MINE (PERMITS 01-83-796, 01-83-796-1, and S-601A)
Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. (UCM), P.O. Box 1000, Healy, Alaska 99743, has requested Phase III Bond Release for a portion of the Poker Flats Mine (Permit Number S-0601). UCM has requested a total of 430 acres for Phase III Bond Release. The bond release request for Phase III is based on UCM completing the revegetation requirements set forth AS 27.21.170 (c) (3).UCM has requested a release of $153,418 of their $909,230 reclamation bond.
As part of this request for bond release, UCM provided a vegetation monitoring report, written by a third-party contractor, detailing vegetation monitoring from the 2018 & 2019 growing seasons.
The Poker Flats Mine was first authorized under an interim authorization in 1983. Since the adoption of the Alaska Surface Coal Mining Control and Reclamation Act (ASMCRA), the mine has been authorized under the following permits, 01-83-796, 01-83-796-1, and S-601A and consists of a 2,565-acre mine site, located approximately five (5) miles northeast of Healy, Alaska. The mine is located within: Sections 3-9, 17, 20, and 21, Township 12 South, Range 7 West, Fairbanks Meridian. Land affected by this request for final bond release is owned by the State of Alaska. The Poker Flat Mine permits were last renewed on August 24, 2017 for a 7th permit term.
Copies of the bond release request are available for review at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water, 550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 920, Anchorage, AK 99501-3577, and at the Department’s Fairbanks office at 3700 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709, or on our website at (www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/mining/index.htm).
Any person with a valid legal interest that might be adversely affected by this proposal or any federal, state, or municipal agency that has jurisdiction may submit written comments or objections concerning this proposal, and may also request, in writing, a public hearing under AS 27.21.170(g). Comments may be sent to Russell Kirkham by mail at the Anchorage address above, fax to (907) 269-8950, or by e-mail to coalprogram@alaska.gov with the subject, “Poker Flats Mine Bond Release” The deadline for comments and request for a public hearing is 5:00 p.m., March 1, 2021.