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 65 acres of the Poker Flats Mine (Permit Number S-0601). This area was approved for Phase II Bond Release in 2020. The bond release request for Phase III is based on requirements set forth under AS 27.21.170, 11 AAC 90.211, and the approved permit and reclamation plan, which include two consecutive years of monitoring to ensure the appropriate vegetation standards have been met. UCM has requested release of $58,282 of their $411,292 reclamation bond liability amount.
As part of this request for bond release, UCM submitted a report from ABR, Inc, an outside consultant, who conducted two consecutive years of vegetation monitoring. The study concluded the areas requested have robust vegetation established and meet or exceed the standards set forth in Volume VIII Section 10 of the approved Poker Flats operation and reclamation plan. In addition, these areas have remained stable for over a decade. Revegetation occurred by aerial seeding, hand planting of spruce and birch transplants, and by hand seeding grasses on an as needed basis after aerial seeding; mainly between 2013 and 2017. The work accomplished supports the approved reclamation plan for backfilling of mine pits, elimination of depressions that could impound significant quantities of water, establishment of stable post-mining slopes and drainage configuration, and establishment of a stable, self-sustaining vegetation community consistent with the post-mining land use of wildlife habitat.
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 bond release is owned by the State of Alaska.
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 (https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/).
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., May 19, 2024