Laserfiche WebLink
September 9, 2011 <br />_RARE EARTh <br />www rareearthscience.com <br />James E. Stover <br />J. E. Stover & Associates, Inc. <br />PO Box 60340 <br />Grand Junction, CO 81506 <br />Appendix 3.7 -2 <br />SCIENCE <br />VIA EMAIL: jestover @bresnan.net <br />Re: Threatened & Endangered Species Inventory Update <br />Renewal No. 6 of State Permit No. C- 1984 -066 <br />Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine, Garfield County, Colorado <br />Dear Jim: <br />This letter and the attached figures report the results of a threatened and endangered (T &E) species <br />inventory update completed by Rare Earth Science, LLC (Rare Earth), for Renewal No. 6 of Coal <br />Ridge No. 1 Mine Permit No. C- 1984 -065 issued by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, <br />and Safety (DRMS). The DRMS requested this update in a Permit Renewal Application Adequacy <br />Review dated June 28, 2011. Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine is an inactive underground coal mine located in <br />Garfield County, Colorado, along the mountain feature known as the Grand Hogback near the town <br />of Newcastle, between the South Canyon Creek and Alkali Creek drainages of the Colorado River <br />watershed (see enclosed map). The original DRMS permit for the mine was issued in 1984, and the <br />T &E inventory for the mine site was last updated in November 2001. <br />Renewal No. 6 of the Coal Ridge No. 1 Mine DRMS Permit is a routine renewal for an inactive mine. <br />The areas of surface disturbance associated with former mining activities have been reclaimed since <br />1995. No new mining is proposed. A small remaining sediment pond and associated ditches are <br />slated for reclamation following permit renewal. A criterion for permit renewal under Rule <br />2.07.6(2)(n) of the Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for Coal Mining <br />(effective August 30, 1980) requires DRMS to make a finding regarding whether permitted activities <br />will affect the continued existence of T &E species or result in destruction or adverse modification of <br />their critical habitat. The purpose of this letter is to provide a T &E species analysis for the permit <br />renewal to reflect the current T &E lists (see Table 1, below) issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife <br />Service (USFWS) and the Colorado Division of Parks & Wildlife (CDPW). Table 1 lists the T &E <br />PO Box 1245 * NOMA, COIORAdO 81428 * 970.527.8445 * dAWN @RAREEARThSCIENCE.COM <br />