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S��tiNT OF Th <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />z <br />t!i O <br />OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING <br />RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT <br />Western Region Office <br />1999 Broadway, Suite 3320 <br />Denver, CO 80202-3050 <br />June 6, 2016 <br />CERTIFIED MAIL -RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED <br />Mr. Jeremy Nichols <br />Director, Climate & Energy Program <br />Wild Earth Guardians <br />2590 Walnut Street <br />Denver, CO 80205 <br />JUS 13 x,016 <br />LAOTO <br />Vs�o Of p S95y <br />MjH� <br />Re: Citizens Complaint and Request for Federal Inspection of GCC's King II Mine CO -0106 <br />Dear Mr. Nichols: <br />On May 20, 2016, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) <br />received your citizen complaint submitted pursuant to Sections 517 and 521 of the Surface <br />Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). In your complaint, you allege that <br />GCC Energy LLC's (GCC) King H Mine in La Plata County, Colorado, appears to be violating <br />its federal SMCRA permit and its mining plan issued by the Assistant Secretary, Land and <br />Minerals Management under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) because of alleged increased coal <br />production at the mine. <br />After reviewing your complaint, OSMRE has determined that it does not have evidence to <br />believe any violation of SMCRA or the federal permit is occurring at the King H Mine related to <br />the alleged increased production. Therefore, in accordance with 30 C.F.R. § 842.12, OSMRE is <br />not conducting an inspection in response to your complaint. <br />Critically, the federal SMCRA permit does not contain production limits that the mine could <br />violate. The federal SMCRA regulations do not require establishment of production limits, and <br />Federal Permit CO -0106 does not establish any production limits. <br />Your complaint also indicates confusion over the amount of the leased federal coal reserves <br />covered by the federal SMCRA permit. Your complaint indicates that in 2014 the Colorado <br />Division of Reclamation and Mine Safety authorized 8-12 million tons of coal to be produced <br />from the federal lease COC -62920 over the next 6-9 years. This tonnage estimate is derived <br />from the Resource Recovery and Protection Plan, which the Bureau of Land Management <br />(BLM) reviewed, and includes reserves within federal lease COC-62920and non-federal coal <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />