Laserfiche WebLink
US. OFiNRM[NT OF THF INTFlIOR <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT <br />UNCOMPAHGRE FIELD OFFICE <br />2465 South Townsend <br />Montrose, CO 81401 <br />b1m.Eov/colorado <br />JUL 17 2017 <br />Delivered via email to: Mike.LudlOW(agOXBOW.COM <br />Michael W. Ludlow <br />President <br />Oxbow Mining, LLC <br />P.O. Box 535 <br />Somerset, CO 81434 <br />RE: Bowie Resources, LLC, Bowie No. 2 Mine <br />TR -112, Oxbow Drilling <br />Dear Mr. Ludlow: <br />We have considered the information provided to us in your letter dated June 16, 2017 regarding <br />Bowie Resources, LLC's (Bowie) technical revision application, TR -112, submitted to the <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety. The technical revision proposes to remove <br />one main line seal to equalize the pressure in the currently sealed Bowie No. 2 Mine. Oxbow <br />Mining entered into an agreement with Bowie to extract coal mine methane from the mine. <br />As support for your technical revision, you reference Bureau of Land Management IM 2017-037, <br />the BLM's waste mine methane policy. The policy set forth in IM 2017-037 encourages operators <br />to capture waste mine methane if the operator's coal lease allows for capture. The policy provides <br />that "it is the BLM's policy to analyze the potential release of WMM from new or expanded <br />underground mining operations on Federal lands and to encourage reductions in the amount of <br />WMM release into the atmosphere to the extent practicable and allowable under current authority <br />and consistent with safety." The policy does not provide the authorization to capture the WMM. <br />The policy is clear that the authorization to conduct methane capture is based solely on a Waste <br />Mine Methane Capture Lease Addendum to the coal lease. None of the coal leases held by Bowie <br />include that addendum. <br />Finally, we recognize that as part of the policy there exists potential for BLM to consider including <br />the required addendum to the appropriate lease(s). It is our understanding that no methane capture <br />project can be authorized under current federal coal mine lease regulations and policy until such <br />an addendum is agreed upon and executed by the parties. <br />