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I. Background—West Elk Coal Mine and Methane Venting <br />The West Elk coal mine the largest coal mine in Colorado. Using underground, longwall <br />mining techniques, the mine produced 4.1 million tons of coal in 2016 and appears poised to <br />produce close to five million tons in 2017. As of 2015, the mine was the 41 st largest producer in <br />the United States and the largest producer in the State of Colorado. See Coal Production Data <br />from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, <br />http://www.eia.gov/coal/annual/pdf/table9.pdf. Arch Coal Company, headquartered in St. Louis, <br />owns and operates the West Elk Mine through its subsidiary, Mountain Coal Company, LLC. <br />See Arch Coal's website, http://www.archcoal.com/aboutus/westelk.aspx. <br />Located in northwestern Gunnison County west of the towns of Somerset and Paonia, the <br />main mine facilities are located directly south of Highway 133, which follows the North Fork of <br />the Gunnison River. Its underground workings extend south from Highway 133 several miles <br />underneath the Grand Mesa, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre National Forest, which is managed by <br />the U.S. Forest Service. The mine lies to the north of the West Elk Mountains and the West Elk <br />Wilderness Area, south of the Grand Mesa, and west of the Ragged Mountains and the Raggeds <br />Wilderness Area. The maps below illustrate the location of the mine. <br />Google Earth map showing location of West Elk Mine in Colorado. <br />2 <br />