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West Elk Mine <br />The F Seam room and pillar mining operations in the West Elk Mine utilized continuous miners, <br />diesel face haulage, and electric roof bolters. The longwall mining method utilized in the B <br />Seam and the E Seam, also uses continuous miner sections to develop the longwall panels. <br />Depending on market conditions, MCC could operate up to two longwalls in the B and E seams. <br />Most coal mined at West Elk Mine is marketed and shipped as a run -of -mine product, but mid - <br />or high ash coal can be run through (washed) in MCC's coal preparation plant if need be, <br />resulting in a higher quality product. <br />The primary surface disturbances at the West Elk Mine are located at the main facilities area, <br />including the portals, coal handling facilities, support buildings, and waste rock disposal areas, the <br />Sylvester Gulch facilities area, and roads and pads of mine ventilation boreholes. Since West Elk <br />Mine is an underground mining operation, the surface facilities and associated disturbance is very <br />small (a few hundred acres) compared to the permit area of more than 17,000 acres (i.e. <5%). <br />Additional surface facilities may occur in the future as needed for ventilation, dewatering, waste <br />rock disposal, and other facilities necessary for continued mine operations. Descriptions of these <br />new facilities may be found in Section 2.05. The surface facilities will be reclaimed at the end of <br />mining operations as later described. <br />For the purposes of this application, the following terms are used in the document as defined below: <br />1. Mine Plan Area/Boundary: Means the area of land within the boundaries of the permit area (as <br />revised) during the entire life of the coal mining and reclamation operations. It includes all <br />areas that are or may be affected during the entire life of those operations. <br />2. Coal Lease AreaBoundary: Means the area of land within the boundaries of the permit area (as <br />revised) during the entire life of the coal mining operations that overlie Federal coal leases and <br />privately -owned coal, but which do not necessarily include lands that are or may be disturbed <br />by surface operations within the permit area. This area is shown on several permit maps, <br />including Map 1. <br />3. Permit AreaBoundary: Means the area of land surface within the permit boundaries (as <br />revised) depicted on several permit maps including Maps 1 through 20, 34, 51, 52 and 68 and <br />as described in Exhibit 2A. All areas that are or may affected by coal mining and reclamation <br />operations during the five-year permit term (as revised and successively -renewed) are included. <br />4. Environmental Study AreaBoundary: Means an area, as depicted on Map 3, that extends up to <br />one mile outside the permit boundary and mine plan boundary to encompass portions of <br />drainages and vegetation types in the surrounding area that may be connected to these <br />resources within the permit area. <br />5. Adjacent Area: Means lands located outside the permit area, mine plan area, and coal lease area <br />where air, water, wildlife, and other resources may be affected by coal mining and reclamation <br />operations. For surface owners' descriptions, adjacent lands mean the next immediately <br />adjacent landowner. The adjacent area here defined is within the Environmental Study Area. <br />Rev. 11/04- PRI 0, 01/16- MR415 <br />1.0-3 <br />