Laserfiche WebLink
Environmental Assessment <br /> 1.9.3 Annual External Scoping by OSMRE (2015) <br /> As part of its oversight process,the OSMRE annually sends an outreach letter to interested parties to gain <br /> feedback from the public on the effectiveness of the CDRMS coal regulatory program regarding land <br /> reclamation on coal mines,preventing off-site impacts to lands and waters adjacent to coal mine permit <br /> areas, and providing service to customers. The OSMRE received four letter responses to its February <br /> 2015 outreach letter regarding the King II Mine. Senior staff at OSMRE sent detailed responses to each <br /> commenter addressing each of their concerns. The commenters' names have been withheld to protect the <br /> identity of private citizens but the issues raised by them and the responses by OSMRE to substantive <br /> comments relevant to the King II Mine lease modification are summarized in Table 1-3. <br /> Table 1-3.OSMRE public comments and response to oversight outreach <br /> Comments Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement <br /> Response <br /> The commenter stated that the area The responder notes that NEPA requires federal agencies to <br /> would benefit greatly by a more consider potential environmental impacts of their Proposed <br /> robust application process with an Actions by preparing EAs or Environmental Impact Statements. <br /> EIS completed by the OSMRE as The federal actions associated with the King Coal Mine included <br /> well as higher reclamation bonds. federal coal leases and amendments to existing leases that were <br /> Commenter requested the OSMRE evaluated with EAs led by the BLM and finalized on June 15, <br /> conduct its own onsite subsidence 1981; February 1, 1990;November 3 1997;November 10, 1999; <br /> reviews as there has been a and June 21, 2001. OSMRE is a cooperating agency on these past <br /> subsidence that disrupted the and current NEPA analyses for Proposed Actions at the King <br /> irrigation ditch that went unreported. Coal Mine. Therefore, it is already involved in the environmental <br /> impact analysis process as specified by NEPA and the Council <br /> on Environmental Quality. <br /> Reclamation bond amounts are generally set higher than the <br /> estimated costs to reclaim all permitted disturbances associated <br /> with the King Coal Mine as required by Colorado's coal mine <br /> regulations. In addition to the reclamation bond held by CDRMS <br /> of more than $850,000; OSMRE holds a bond in the amount of <br /> $10,200 for the UMU permit which has no anticipated surface <br /> disturbance and $0 reclamation cost. <br /> Coal mine permittees are required to adopt measures to prevent <br /> subsidence from causing material damage to the extent <br /> technologically and economically feasible,to maximize mine <br /> stability, and to maintain the value and reasonably foreseeable <br /> future use of surface lands except where planned subsidence may <br /> occur in a predictable and controlled manner. Mine subsidence <br /> can be monitored by placing fixed monuments on the land <br /> surface above underground mine workings and surveying those <br /> monuments at regular intervals to detect any changes in relative <br /> location or by visual evaluation to determine if surface lands <br /> have developed cracks. The OSMRE contacted the affected land <br /> owner where the irrigation ditch damage was said to occur.No <br /> damage was confirmed by the land owner. <br /> DOI-BLM-CO-S010-2011-0074-EA <br /> September 2017 <br /> -27- <br />