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MCC submitted Permit Renewal application RN-5 on January 23, 2006 and the application was <br /> deemed complete for the purposes of filing on January 26, 2006. An adequacy review found that <br /> it was not necessary to submit comments to the applicant. The reclamation cost estimate was <br /> updated and the applicant submitted additional reclamation bond. The proposed decision to <br /> approve RN-5 was issued on February 13, 2007. <br /> MCC submitted the application for PR-12,the addition of the Dry Fork lease (COC-67232), on <br /> October 1, 2007 and DRMS deemed the application complete for the purposes of filing on the <br /> same day. An adequacy review was conducted and comments were submitted to the applicant in <br /> a letter dated December 5, 2007. The Division's adequacy concerns were related to subsidence <br /> impacts in the proposed Dry Fork lease area and various changes to text and tables in the permit <br /> application. All concerns were resolved by MCC's responses submitted on February 28, 2008. <br /> The Division issued a proposed decision of March 21, 2008. <br /> MCC submitted the application for PR-14 on August 18, 2008 and DRMS deemed the <br /> application complete for the purposes of filing on August 28, 2008. PR-14 approved the drilling <br /> of up to 152 methane drainage wells to the mine's underground workings in longwall panels E-2 <br /> through E-12, over a 12-year period. The wells were approved to be drilled within the <br /> applicant's existing coal leasehold and mining permit area on Federal (USFS) and private lands. <br /> The total aggregate surface disturbance was approved to be approximately 80 acres within a 6- <br /> square mile area. A Federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared for the project, <br /> titled "The Deer Creek Shaft and E Seam Methane Drainage Wells Project". The applicant <br /> substituted PR-14 for a proposed drilling project previously submitted to the Division as <br /> Technical Revision 112. A decision to approve PR-14 was proposed on October 10, 2008, and <br /> issued on November 14, 2008. <br /> MCC submitted an application for permit renewal, RN-06, on January 20, 2011, and the <br /> application was deemed complete for the purposes of filing on January 21, 2011. The Division <br /> conducted a preliminary adequacy review of the RN-06 application and submitted comments to <br /> the applicant in a letter dated March 18, 2011. Most of the Division's comments related to <br /> updating information in the AVS. All concerns noted in the March 18, 2011 letter were resolved <br /> by MCC's responses submitted by email on March 25, 2011. During the review of RN-06, the <br /> Division updated the reclamation cost estimate for the West Elk Mine. A decision to approve <br /> RN-06 was proposed on October 17, 2011, and issued on November 28, 2011. <br /> MCC submitted the application for PR-15 on March 29, 2018 and DRMS deemed the application <br /> complete for the purposes of filing on April 5, 2018. PR-15 approved the expansion of the <br /> permit area boundary into the Sunset Trails area to the south of the previously approved permit <br /> area boundary, adding 2,620 acres to the permit area, and revised the mine plan. Four longwall <br /> panels were added, with a projected area of mining of—1,120 acres, comprising —65% federally <br /> owned coal and—35%privately owned. The addition of 43 Mine Ventilation Boreholes (MVBs) <br /> was approved, with associated drill pads and access roads. A total of 53.63 additional disturbed <br /> acres was approved. A decision to approve PR-15 was proposed on September 4, 2018. An <br /> objection to the Division's proposed decision and request for formal hearing was received on <br /> September 30, 2018. The Mined Land Reclamation Board heard the objection on October 24, <br /> 2018, and upheld the Division's decision. <br /> 9 <br />