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With the Tenth Circuit's order to vacate the North Fork Exception, Mountain Coal lacks <br />a legal right of entry to conduct surface -disturbing activities on the Sunset Roadless Area, in <br />violation of its permit obligations. Consequently, DRMS's decision to approve MR -446 violated <br />MLRB regulations, which specifically require permit applicants to provide "a complete and <br />detailed legal description of the proposed permit boundary, a description of the documents upon <br />which the applicant bases his or her legal right to enter and begin surface coal mining operations <br />in the permit area, and a statement as to whether that right is the subject of pending litigation." <br />MLRB Rule 2.03.6(1). Moreover, "[t]he permit application, all supporting documentation and <br />any stipulations,or conditions" are a "binding part of the permit." DRMS, Proposed Decision and <br />Findings of Compliance for the West Elk Mine C-1980-007, Permit Revision No. 15, at 3 (Sept. <br />4, 2018). At the time of DRMS's initial decision to approve PR -15, the legality of Mountain <br />Coal's purported right of entry upon lands within the Sunset Roadless Area was under litigation, <br />as described above. That litigation has now been resolved by the Tenth Circuit's decision <br />ordering vacatur of the North Fork Exception, leaving Mountain Coal without a legal right of <br />entry upon the Sunset Roadless Area, as DRMS explained in its June 17 Cessation Order. Absent <br />a legal right of entry for Mountain Coal's proposed road -building activities, DRMS's approval of <br />MR -446 violated MLRB regulations. <br />ISSUES TO BE RAISED AT THE HEARING <br />The Applicant bears the burden of providing evidence that the application is complete <br />and accurate. MLRB Rule 1.4.1(3). Additionally, permit applications "shall contain [] a <br />description of the documents upon which the applicant bases his or her legal right to enter and <br />begin surface coal mining operations in the permit area[.]" MLRB Rule 2.03.6(1). As explained <br />above, Mountain Coal has failed to establish that it has a legal right of entry to conduct road - <br />building and tree -cutting activities within the Sunset Roadless Area. Accordingly, DRMS's <br />completeness finding was premature and the Division's decision to approve MR -446 was <br />unlawful. <br />I. DRMS's Completeness Finding Was Premature. <br />Mountain Coal failed to provide any documents with its MR -446 application <br />demonstrating any legal right to enter and conduct surface coal mining operations, including <br />road -building, within the Sunset Roadless Area, as required for permit approval under MLRB <br />Rule 2.03.6. In light of the vacatur of the North Fork Exception and Conservation Groups' then - <br />pending request for inspection related to West Elk's unlawful road -building activities, DRMS <br />had an obligation to confirm the validity of Mountain Coal's legal right of entry to conduct road - <br />building activities within the Sunset Roadless Area, under MLRB Rule 2.03.6(1). Mountain <br />Coal, however, provided no documents to DRMS confirming a legal right to build roads within <br />the designated roadless area. <br />10 <br />