Laserfiche WebLink
construction activities within designated roadless areas, including the Sunset Roadless Area at <br />issue here, 36 C.F.R. § 294.42—.44, the North Fork Exception was an essential legal <br />underpinning for DRMS's authorization of Mountain Coal's expansion of the West Elk Mine, <br />including construction of roads and methane drainage wells ("MDWs"), in the Sunset Roadless <br />Area. 36 C.F.R. § 294.43(c)(1)(ix). Vacatur of the North Fork Exception renders the Exception <br />void and DRMS's approvals for Mountain Coal's surface activities in the Sunset Roadless Area <br />unlawful. Mountain Coal consequently lacks a legal right of entry to conduct surface -disturbing <br />activities in violation of the Colorado Roadless Rule. Despite this lack of legal authority, we <br />understand that during the week of June 1, the company illegally entered and completed more <br />than a mile of road construction and extensive tree cutting. See Exhibit B (Aerial Photos of June <br />2020 West Elk Road Construction (June 10, 2020), (courtesy of EcoFlight)). Mountain Coal <br />representatives have further indicated that they plan to continue to build roads, construct MDWs, <br />and cut trees over the course of this summer, including as soon as this Friday. Accordingly, <br />immediate action by DRMS is required to prevent further illegal surface coal mining -related <br />activity within the Sunset Roadless Area. <br />I. General Background. <br />The Colorado Roadless Rule, which the Forest Service adopted in 2012, generally <br />prohibits road construction in designated areas but initially included an exception for the North <br />Fork Coal Mining Area (the "North Fork Exception"). See Special Areas; Roadless Area <br />Conservation; Applicability to National Forests in Colorado, 77 Fed. Reg. 39,576, 39,578 (July <br />3, 2012). In 2014, however, a federal court concluded that the Forest Service's 2012 <br />promulgation of the North Fork Exception violated the National Environmental Policy Act <br />("NEPA") and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), and the court vacated the North Fork <br />Exception. High Country Conservation Advocates v. U.S. Forest Serv. ("High Country l'), 67 F. <br />Supp. 3d 1262, 1266-67 (D. Colo. 2014). <br />In 2016, the Forest Service prepared a Supplemental Final Environmental Impact <br />Statement ("North Fork SFEIS") and readopted the North Fork Exception, Roadless Area <br />Conservation; National Forest System Lands in Colorado, 81 Fed. Reg. 91,811 (Dec. 19, 2016). <br />Mountain Coal then submitted lease modification requests to expand existing coal leases (COC - <br />1362, COC -67232) into the Sunset Roadless Area, which were consented to by the Forest <br />Service and approved by the Bureau of Land Management (`BLM"). <br />Conservation Groups filed suit, alleging that the federal agencies' issuance of the North <br />Fork Exception and leases violated NEPA and the APA. The district court initially rejected these <br />challenges. On appeal, however, the Tenth Circuit held that the Forest Service's promulgation of <br />the North Fork Exception violated NEPA and remanded to the district court with instructions to <br />vacate the North Fork Exception in its entirety. High Country H, 951 F.3d at 1229. <br />2 <br />