2014-02-14_REVISION - C1981017 (14)

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Permitting History In 1977, Mid - Continent applied for and received Permit No. 47179 from the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board. This permit was superseded by Permit No. C- 1981 -017. Mid - Continent Resources submitted an application under the requirements of the Colorado Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act on February 5, 1981 to the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division (currently the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety). The Division proposed a decision to approve the permit with conditions on April 8, 1983. Permit C- 1981 -017 was issued May 31, 1983. During the review of C- 1981 -017, comments from the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM, previously Mineral Management Service) were considered and incorporated into the permit approval. A number of variances were necessary because of the extensive pre -SMCRA disturbance at the mine site. After careful analysis by the Division and the OSM, it was determined that to bring the mine facilities into total compliance would cause more environmental damage than to issue carefully planned and monitored variances. Therefore, the following variances were approved with the issuance of the permit. • Small area exemptions from constructing sediment ponds were allowed where the disturbed area was small and acceptable sediment control management practices were proposed. • A variance from the stream buffer zone requirements was approved due to past mine disturbance created within 100 feet of Dutch Creek and Coal Creek. • A variance from quarterly subsidence monitoring was granted due to the rugged terrain, deep snowpack and extremely harsh winter conditions. MCR was required to monitor subsidence three times during the summer. • Lastly, a variance from approximate original contour was granted based on the steep slope conditions within the disturbed areas. Because Mid - Continent Resources had several Federal coal leases and the U.S. Forest Service managed a large part of the surface lands in the permit area, the Secretary of the Interior was required to issue federal mine plan approval. Coordination with multiple federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service (White River NF and Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison NF), Bureau of Land Management (formerly Mineral Management Service), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was considered in the preparation of the federal mine plan. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Energy and Minerals approved the mining and reclamation plan on 22 July, 1983. 5