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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT <br /> Effects of Alternative B- No Acton Alternative <br /> Under the No Action Alternative, the LBA would not be offered for competitive lease sale by BLM, there <br /> would be no mining plan modification to be considered and approved by OSMRE and federal coal reserves <br /> in the LBA and new private reserves would not be recovered. Mining at the King II Mine would continue <br /> under existing permits and no expansion of the mine would occur. Water use and the water balance for <br /> the mine would continue under existing permits until the existing coal reserves are mined out in about <br /> 2022.There would be no potential impact to The Gulch. <br /> Direct and Indirect Effects <br /> Surface and groundwater resources in the area of the King II Mine would be utilized and managed as they <br /> have been for the past few years in accordance with existing permits. There would be no impacts to <br /> surface water or groundwater, including to nearby residential water wells. <br /> Cumulative Actions and Effects <br /> Cumulative effects under the No Action scenario would be the same as for the Proposed Action. Domestic, <br /> agricultural, and stock water use would be the main impacts to surface and groundwater resources. <br /> Mining would not be expected to contribute to the cumulative effects for water. <br /> 3.4.3 Resource Issue—Cultural Resources <br /> What would be the effects of the alternatives on cultural resources found within the LBA boundary and <br /> properties of significance to Indian tribes? <br /> 3.4.3.1 Affected Environment <br /> The Project Area is located within the Northern San Juan Cultural Region,on the periphery of the Colorado <br /> Plateau physiographic province.Several cultural traditions are represented in the region,from Paleoindian <br /> occupation to the Euro-American settlement of the area,which includes both the existing King II lease and <br /> permit areas as well as the proposed lease modification area and the entire length of CR 120 in the Project <br /> Area. For an in-depth discussion of the cultural history of southwestern LPC, the reader is referred to <br /> Winter et al. (1986) as well as Lipe et al. (1999). <br /> As required by the NHPA, intensive archeological field investigations were conducted on the Project Area. <br /> Table 3-5 is a summary of the past cultural resource inventory work completed in the Project Area. <br /> Table 3-5. Previous Cultural Resource Inventories <br /> Survey Project Name Affiliation Acres NRHP-eligible <br /> Year Surveyed Sites <br /> e East Alkali Mine, Hay Gulch Area CASA 50 none <br /> 2010 Class III Cultural Resource Inventory of the SWCA 160 5LP9601 <br /> King II Mine Expansion <br /> 2011 Archaeological Survey of Five Proposed 1- PaleoWest 5 none <br /> Acre Drill Hole Locations at the King II mine <br /> Dunn Ranch Area Coal Lease by Application COC-78825 and Mine Plan Modification EA 3-16 <br />