2016-12-23_PERMIT FILE - C1982056A (8)

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Denartment of Agriculture, State agricultural universities or appropriate State natural resources or agricultural agencies. (3) The application shall state whether the proposed permit area has been previously mined, and, if so, the following information, if available: (a) The type and description of mining method used: N The coal seams or other mineral strata mined: (c) The extent of coal or other mineral removed: (d) The approximate dates of past mining; and (e) The uses of the land preceding mining, (f) The location and extent of acreage disturbed by nrevious surface coal mining and reclamation operations. (4) The application shall contain a description of the existing land uses and land use classification under local law, if any, of the proposed permit area and adiacent areas. RESPONSE TCC has included in this permit revision application a description of the premining environmental resources existing within the proposed permit and adjacent areas, which may be affected by the planned • mining activities. These descriptions can be found in the responses to Rules 2.04.4 through 2.04.12, which immediately follow this section. Information presented in these sections was obtained from site - specific studies during 1984 and/or previous years, historical records, personal communication with reliable individuals, and local agency personnel. The information presented is based on what TCC believes to be sound engineering and scientific reasoning. The information acquired from these sources was confirmed and augmented through comparison with adjacent undisturbed sites. Land use categories, as defined under Rule 1.04(71), occurring within and adjacent to the proposed permit area are indicated on Maps 3 and 3A, Premining Land Use. The dominant premining land uses are identified on these maps and include cropland, pastureland, and rangeland. Two subordinate and coincidental land uses are also known to occur in the area of Twentymile Park; wildlife habitat and recreation (almost exclusively in the form of hunting). The dominant land use designations are confirmed by the Routt County Land Use Map prepared by the USDA, Soil Conservation Service (SCS). A recent update of this map entitled "Primary and Secondary Farmland" lists cropland within the proposed permit area as secondary farmland. Postmining land -use designations may be found on Map 3B (Postmirung Land Use). The definition of "land use ", as given in Rule 1.04, is stated as "specific uses or management- related activities, rather than the vegetation or cover of the land." Therefore, TCC has complied with this definition for the identification of area land uses and their identification in Maps 3 and 3A, Premining Land Use. For instance, pastureland is defined under Rule 1.04(71)(6) as land "actively managed for grazing, browsing, or for occasional hay production ". Smooth brome pastures, some native grasslands, and many haylands readily fit this definition. Inclusion of the term "browsing ", however, confirms the intent to not exclude from the pastureland classification lands on which shrubs are a component of the plant community. • Land that supports plant communities containing shrubs will obviously not be cut for hay, but can be used or managed as pastureland. This understanding of pastureland management in Twentymile TR06 -52 2.04 -2 02/17/06