2016-12-13_REVISION - C1996083 (125)

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requested concurrence from the Office of Surface Mining to determine that this application as submitted does not constitute a Mining Plan Action."). We believe DRMS's interpretation is in error. Pursuant to federal Office of Surface Mining regulations, a mining plan must be modified where, among other things, there is "[a]ny change in the mining plan which would affect the conditions of its approval pursuant to Federal law or regulation[,]" "[a]ny change in the location or amount of coal to be mined, except where such change is the result of [] [a] minor change in the amount of coal actually available for mining from the amount estimated, or "[a]ny change which requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act[.]" 30 C.F.R. §§ 746.18(a), (d)(1), (d)(3), and (d)(5). An environmental impact statement is required whenever a federal action "[s]ignificantly [a]ffect[s] [t]he quality of the human environment." 40 C.F.R. § 1502.3. Here, the construction and operation of a "DAXIOM Plant," which will convert coal mine waste, including waste coal, into gas in order to produce diesel fuel and fuel oil or to generate electricity, will almost certainly have significant impacts to the quality of the human environment. No such industrial activity has ever been conducted on the permit area — or indeed at any coal mine in Colorado — and the operation appears to pose greater risks and impacts than traditional mining, processing, and loading operations. At the very least, the proposal poses unique, unknown and unanalyzed risks. Because Bowie Resources appears to be proposing something like a refinery or chemical processing activity, this permit revision seems likely to "affect the conditions of its approval pursuant to Federal law or regulations," represent a "change in the location or amount of coal to be mined," and represents a change that would require "the preparation of an environmental impact statement." To this end, it would appear that a mining plan modification would be required pursuant to 30 C.F.R. § 746. We request DRMS make such a recommendation to OSMRE. Furthermore, it would appear that other federal land use approvals, including from the BLM and the USFS, would be necessary. Given that the mine permit area includes both BLM managed land and minerals, as well as USFS land, it would appear that additional land use approvals would be required before DRMS could authorize the proposed revision. It would also appear that BLM would be required approve a new resource recovery and protection plan, something that has yet to be suggested or proposed by Bowie Resources or the BLM. 4. Request for Public Hearing In light of the aforementioned concerns, we, the undersigned, hereby request that DRMS hold a public hearing regarding the proposed permit revision. There are serious questions over whether the proposed revision will protect the interests of the public and affected landowners (including the American public, who all own public lands in the permit area). A public hearing is needed to ensure the public has a full opportunity to engage in this process, to share their concerns, and to better understand Bowie's proposal. The fact that the permit area is within 100 - feet of the outside right-of-way of a public road raises concerns over safety, the integrity of the public roadway, reliability of access to lands and the North Fork of the Gunnison River in the