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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT <br /> 1.9 PRELIMINARY EA PUBLIC COMMENT AND AGENCY RESPONSE <br /> This EA was publicly available for review for a 32-day period starting on July 5,2019 and ending on August <br /> 5, 2019. The EA and supporting information were available on both the BLM and OSMRE webpages. <br /> Interested party letters were sent to 253 people/agencies and 32 Indian Tribes in advance of posting the <br /> EA for the 32-day public review. A legal notice was published in the Durango Herald on July 5 and 12, <br /> 2019 informing the public of the availability of the preliminary EA for public comment. The legal notice <br /> also informed the public of a public information meeting and public hearing to take verbal comments held <br /> on July 24, 2019 at the BLM Tres Rios Field Office. The public hearing was held in accordance with BLM <br /> coal regulations found at 43 CFR 3425.4, which require the BLM to receive oral public comments on the <br /> preliminary EA and on the fair market value and maximum economic recovery of the coal proposed to be <br /> mined. A public information meeting was held on August 1, 2019 at the Breen Community Center in La <br /> Plata County near the King Il Mine with a separate legal notice informing the public published in the <br /> Durango Herald on July 26 and 29, 2019. The two public meetings were attended by 12 and 19 members <br /> of the public, respectively. These public meetings contained informational posters detailing the proposed <br /> action, anticipated consequences of the action, and described the regulatory process. Agency <br /> management representatives and resource specialists were on hand to engage with the public and answer <br /> questions. At the meetings, the public were able to submit their written comments to the agencies. During <br /> the 32-day public comment period, a total of 28 comment letters were submitted through the meetings, <br /> email, and through the BLM's ePlanning website. Many of the letters contained multiple comments for a <br /> total of 127 discrete comments received. The majority of the comments were concerned with air quality <br /> and climate change (26), the NEPA process and alternatives (17) energy development(13), water quality <br /> (12), and traffic and transportation(10). All public comments received from the web posting of the EA and <br /> from the public meetings are provided in the Public Comment/Agency Response Matrix included as <br /> Appendix B to this EA. Changes made to the EA are shown in italics. <br /> Dunn Ranch Area Coal Lease by Application COC-78825 and Mine Plan Modification EA 1-8 <br />