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SUNSET TRAIL AREA EXPLORATION PLAN <br />INTRODUCTION <br />This Exploration Plan has been prepared by Ark Land LLC (AL) and Mountain Coal Company, <br />LLC (MCC) in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 43, <br />Chapter II, Subparts 3482.1(a) - Exploration Plans and 3484.1(a) - Performance Standards as well <br />as the CFR Title 30, Chapter VII, Part 815 (Permanent Program Performance Standards - Coal <br />Exploration) and the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board Rules and Regulations for Coal <br />Exploration C.R.S. 34-33-101 et seQ (General Requirements: Exploration of Less than 250 Tons). <br />The outline headings used in the Exploration Plan follows the format of 43 CFR, Chapter II, <br />Subpart 3482.1(a). <br />The proposed exploration area covers lands in Gunnison County, Colorado, within which AL plans <br />to conduct an exploration drilling program, as described herein, to evaluate the reserves and quality <br />of coal seams within the Mesa Verde Formation. <br />The information contained in this Exploration Plan demonstrates that environmental protection <br />and reclamation are integral parts of the proposed exploration program, and that reclamation will <br />be performed in tandem with exploration activities. Sufficient information is provided in the <br />Exploration Plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of AL's/MCC's proposed reclamation method. <br />The Exploration Plan incorporates data and analysis by reference from the Federal Coal Lease <br />Modifications COC -1362 and COC -67232 Final Environmental Impact Statement dated August <br />2012 and Sunset Trail Area Exploration Plan Environmental Assessment dated June 2012, as <br />augmented by Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement dated August 2017 completed <br />by the USDA Forest Service (FS) in cooperation with the USDOI Bureau of Land Management <br />(BLM) and Office of Surface Mining (OSM), as well as the Colorado Division of Reclamation <br />Mining and Safety (CDRMS) and is available electronically at: <br />http: //a123.g. akamai. net/7/123/11558/abcl231forestservic. download. akamai. com/11558/www/ne <br />pa/68608 FSPLT3_4051445.pdf. <br />AL will conduct coal exploration activities on the lands identified in this application in <br />coordination with MCC. MCC has mined coal in the Somerset Coal Field of Gunnison County <br />and Delta County, Colorado since 1982. Both AL and MCC are indirect, wholly-owned <br />subsidiaries of Arch Coal, Inc. <br />AL is a corporation organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, and <br />has as its principal business address, City Place One, St. Louis, Missouri 63141 (43 CFR §3472.1- <br />1(c)). <br />